How It Works - OSTRAQ

Architecture

System Architecture

VoteSecured is built on a modern microservices architecture with 14 specialized services organized in 4 security tiers. This architecture ensures scalability, reliability, and defense-in-depth security.

Tier 1: Public Layer

The front-facing components accessible to voters and administrators:

Voter Portal: User-friendly interface for casting votes with real-time status updates
Admin Portal: Comprehensive election management with embedded monitoring dashboards
API Gateway: Secure entry point with rate limiting and DDoS protection

Tier 2: Application Layer

Core business logic and voting operations:

Authentication Service: Multi-factor authentication with WebAuthn/FIDO2 support
Voting Service: Secure ballot casting with end-to-end encryption
Election Management: Configuration and control of election parameters
Results Aggregation: Real-time tallying with cryptographic verification

Tier 3: Cryptographic Layer

Advanced cryptographic operations ensuring security and privacy:

Encryption Service: AES-256-GCM for data at rest, TLS 1.3 for data in transit
zkSNARK Service: Zero-knowledge proofs for voter eligibility verification
Merkle Tree Service: Public commitment trees for ballot integrity
Digital Signature Service: Post-quantum cryptography (Dilithium-87)

Tier 4: Infrastructure Layer

Foundation services ensuring system reliability:

Blockchain Ledger: Ethereum smart contracts for immutable audit trail
Database Cluster: PostgreSQL with multi-tenant architecture and pgAudit
Cache Layer: Redis for session management and performance
Secrets Management: HashiCorp Vault with HSM integration

End-to-End Flow

The Voting Process

VoteSecured employs a sophisticated multi-step process to ensure both security and voter privacy:

1

Voter Authentication

Voters authenticate using our idNFT mobile app with biometric verification, or WebAuthn/FIDO2 hardware keys. Zero-knowledge proofs verify eligibility without revealing identity.

2

Ballot Preparation

The voter's choices are encrypted using AES-256-GCM on the client side. A unique ballot ID is generated and cryptographically signed.

3

Privacy Layer

The system separates voter identity from ballot content. Identity information is hashed and stored separately, making it mathematically impossible to link a voter to their specific choices.

4

Blockchain Commitment

A cryptographic commitment (Merkle tree root) is written to the Ethereum blockchain, creating an immutable timestamp and proof of ballot existence without revealing content.

5

Receipt Generation

Voters receive a cryptographic receipt that can verify their vote was recorded correctly, without revealing how they voted to others.

6

Secure Tallying

After polls close, encrypted ballots are decrypted using multi-party computation to prevent any single entity from seeing individual votes. Results are verified against blockchain commitments.

Security & Privacy

Security & Privacy Features

End-to-End Encryption

All ballot data is encrypted from the moment of creation until final tallying. We use AES-256-GCM, the same encryption standard trusted by governments worldwide.

Voter Anonymity

Mathematical guarantees ensure no linkage between voter identity and ballot choices. Even system administrators cannot determine how individual voters voted.

Blockchain Audit Trail

Every vote generates an immutable record on the Ethereum blockchain, enabling independent verification while maintaining voter privacy.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Voters prove they're eligible to vote without revealing personal information using advanced zkSNARK (Groth16) cryptography.

Post-Quantum Security

Our system uses Kyber-1024 and Dilithium-87 algorithms, protecting against both current and future quantum computer attacks.

Real-Time Monitoring

Integrated Prometheus and Grafana dashboards provide 24/7 visibility into system health, performance, and security events.

Hardware Security Modules

Critical cryptographic keys are stored in HSM-backed HashiCorp Vault, providing military-grade key protection.

Comprehensive Audit Logs

Every system action is logged with tamper-proof signatures and 10-year retention for full accountability.

Rate Limiting & DDoS Protection

Multi-layer protection prevents system abuse with intelligent rate limiting (2000 req/5min) and DDoS mitigation.

Certifications

Compliance & Standards

VoteSecured is designed to meet or exceed the most rigorous election security standards:

EAC VVSG 2.0

U.S. Election Assistance Commission Voluntary Voting System Guidelines for voting system security, accuracy, and accessibility.

IEEE 1622

Standard for Electronic Data Interchange for election data to ensure interoperability and data integrity.

NIST 800-53

National Institute of Standards and Technology security and privacy controls for federal information systems.

Common Criteria EAL4+

International security certification demonstrating methodical design, testing, and review processes.

GDPR

Full compliance with European Union data protection regulations for voter privacy and data rights.

SOC 2 Type II

Independent audit of our security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls.

Infrastructure

Deployment & Infrastructure

VoteSecured supports flexible deployment across multiple cloud providers and on-premises infrastructure:

Multi-Cloud Support

Deploy on Azure AKS, AWS EKS, or Google Cloud GKE with our Kubernetes orchestration. Choose your preferred cloud provider or distribute across multiple clouds for redundancy.

On-Premises Deployment

For jurisdictions requiring complete control, we support fully on-premises deployment in your data centers with the same security guarantees.

Hybrid Architecture

Combine cloud scalability with on-premises control. Keep sensitive voter data on-premises while leveraging cloud for non-sensitive services.

High Availability

Multi-region deployment with automatic failover ensures 99.99% uptime during critical election periods.

Performance

Performance & Scalability

VoteSecured is engineered to handle elections of any size:

Concurrent voters tested

10,000+

API response times

<200ms

Uptime guarantee

99.99%

Horizontal scaling: Add capacity dynamically as voting traffic increases
Redis caching: Sub-millisecond session lookups and rate limiting
Database optimization: Indexed queries and connection pooling for efficiency
CDN integration: Static assets delivered from edge locations worldwide

Transparency

Public Verification

VoteSecured enables independent verification of election integrity:

Voter Receipt Verification

Voters can use their cryptographic receipt to verify their ballot was recorded correctly by checking against the public Merkle tree.

Blockchain Transparency

All ballot commitments are publicly visible on the Ethereum blockchain, enabling independent auditors to verify the election.

Open Audit Access

Third-party auditors can access anonymized audit logs and cryptographic proofs to verify election integrity without compromising privacy.

Statistical Verification

Risk-limiting audits can be performed on encrypted ballots to verify results match the blockchain commitments.

The Advantage

Why VoteSecured?

VoteSecured represents the convergence of cutting-edge cryptography, blockchain technology, and election science. We've built a system that doesn't compromise — you get both maximum security and complete voter privacy.

Proven Security: Military-grade encryption and post-quantum cryptography
Complete Privacy: Zero-knowledge proofs and mathematical anonymity guarantees
Public Verifiability: Blockchain transparency without compromising voter privacy
Standards Compliant: Meets EAC, NIST, IEEE, and international requirements
Production Ready: 85%+ test coverage, comprehensive security audits
Scalable: Handles elections from local councils to national governments

How VoteSecured Works