The Apple CEO hopes that it will be possible to vote with the iPhone. Although in practice, this entails many risks.

 

Cook made the statement during a New York Times podcast interview with Kara Swisher. The ruling came in response to new electoral laws in the US state of Georgia that critics say makes it more difficult for certain groups to cast their votes.

In the interview, Cook, therefore, says that he would like people to be able to vote with their iPhone.

“I dream of it because it is where we live now,” says Cook. ‘We bank with our phone, and we have health data on our phone. There is more information on our phone than in our house. So why not? ‘

Cook does ignore some inconvenient matters. Like the fact that both iPhones and Android smartphones need security updates almost monthly to stay safe. Having the democratic election process run partly or mainly via a smartphone also makes those devices a lot more attractive for hackers to influence results.

Besides, there are updates for known security holes. If hackers or foreign espionage services discover an unprecedented problem (a zero-day) and do not report it, the door is open to abuse. This was already done by the CIA, among others, whistleblower Edward Snowden announced.