Rebecca Mercuri
{{short description|American expert in computer security}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Rebecca Mercuri
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| fields = Computer security, computer forensics
| workplaces = Notable Software
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| alma_mater = University of Pennsylvania
| thesis_title = Electronic Vote Tabulation: Checks & Balances
| thesis_url = http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3003665/
| thesis_year = 2000
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| known_for = Mercuri method
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| website = {{URL|http://www.notablesoftware.com/}}
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Rebecca Mercuri is a computer scientist specializing in computer security and computer forensics. She is considered a leading expert on electronic voting systems.{{Cite book|title=Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang|last=Barrett|first=Grant|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780199760459}}
Education
Mercuri earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 after defending her thesis on electronic voting.{{Cite web|url=http://www.notablesoftware.com/manifesto.html|title=Memorandum of Clarification|last=Mercuri|first=Rebecca|date=15 March 2007|website=Notable Software|access-date=31 August 2016}} She was a fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.{{Cite web|url=https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/csac/2004/2252/00/01377210.pdf|title=Speaker Biographies|last=Lipner|first=S.B.|publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|access-date=4 September 2016}} From 2004–2005, she was a computer science fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, focusing on transparency and trust in computational systems.{{Cite journal|last=Lambert|first=Craig|date=November–December 2004|title=Voting into Vapor|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2004/11/voting-into-vapor.html|journal=Harvard Magazine|access-date=31 August 2016}}
Career
In 1981, Mercuri founded the computer security and forensics consulting company Notable Software, where she continues to work.{{Cite web|url=http://www.notablesoftware.com/history.html|title=History|website=Notable Software|access-date=31 August 2016}}
In 2000, Mercuri provided expert testimony to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the proceedings following the 2000 United States presidential election, and was mentioned in a brief presented to the Supreme Court for the Bush v. Gore decision. She has also provided testimony to the United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology; the Federal Election Commission; the United States Commission on Civil Rights; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/rebecca-mercuri|title=Fellow Rebecca Mercuri|date=2005|website=Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study|publisher=Harvard University|access-date=4 September 2016}}
In 2002, Mercuri was asked to inspect the electronic voting machines that malfunctioned in the 2002 Florida gubernatorial election.{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2002/11/05/voting_machines_2/|title=Voting into the void|last=Manjoo|first=Farhad|date=5 November 2002|website=Salon|access-date=4 September 2016}}
Mercuri was the author of a column called "Security Watch", which was published in the Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery. She was also a contributing editor to the journal from 2002–2008.{{Cite web|url=http://www.notablesoftware.com/rmercuri.html|title=Rebecca Mercuri|website=Notable Software|access-date=4 September 2016}}
After the 2014 security breach of the United States federal government's Healthcare.gov website, Mercuri was noted in the media for the security audit she had performed the previous year, which had concluded that the website had security issues.{{Cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/healthcare-gov-hacked-consumer-information-not-breached-110611|title=GOP on attack over health site hack|last=Norman|first=Brett|date=4 September 2014|website=Politico|access-date=4 September 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2603929/healthcare-gov-hacked-if-only-someone-had-warned-it-was-hackable-oh-wait.html|title=Healthcare.gov hacked? If only someone had warned it was hackable...Oh wait|last=Storm|first=Darlene|date=8 September 2014|website=Computerworld|access-date=4 September 2014}}
Mercuri was an expert witness for the defense in the trial of Roderick Vosburgh. Vosburgh was convicted and jailed. The case was notable for featuring as evidence images of internet-famous "camgirl" Loli-chan.{{Cite web|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/4chan-camgirl-loli-chan-grows-up-6393598|title=4chan Camgirl Loli-chan Grows Up|publisher=Miami New Times|access-date=24 September 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1522221.html|title=UNITED STATES v. VOSBURGH|work=FindLaw|access-date=24 September 2017}}
Mercuri method
Mercuri is known for the Mercuri method, a version of a voter-verified paper audit trail. In her method, a person casts their votes on a machine which then outputs them on an enclosed paper record for verification. The electronic entry provides some of the efficiency afforded by purely electronic systems; the enclosure ensures that the votes are not electronically tampered with after being cast; and the glass safeguards the vote from being removed from the voting booth before it is deposited into the secure ballot box.
References
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Category:American computer security academics
Category:American women computer scientists
Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni