Christian Site's Poll Backfires

The Alpha Course, a Christian Website, has created an instant Internet poll asking if God exists. So far, 96 percent of respondents clicked on "NO."Internet polls are notoriously unreliable because they are not representative. And unless strict control is put in place to increase security, such as demanding registration or performing some anti-script and anti-bot activity, online polls can be easily manipulated.

But polls draw attention. Aside from botnets, outside interest groups can show interest and send their members to vote and skew the results.

Then again, they may simply not show what you want them to show, much like any other poll. Putting the results on the Website live, like The Alpha Course has done, rather than after-the-fact is problematic.

Finally, some waiting is advisable -- 96 percent votes could mean very few people voted, and in an hour or so the results would be completely different.

Regardless, I am certain that this will draw attention due to the sensitive nature of the poll.

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Gadi Evron is an independent security strategist based in Israel. Special to Dark Reading.