re: Geek perspective
It would be a little more difficult to say, change all the Excel files in thousands of computers to alter the numbers slightly.
Flawed analogy. Yes, it would take a very smart virus to examine thousands of different Excel spreadsheets to find and alter a particular value. But that's not how viruses work. They're successful because the same files are installed on millions of computers: The operating system, Windows in most cases. A virus author need only write a simple virus that targets one particular flaw in Windows, in one location in one file, confident in the knowledge that there are millions of computers out there vulnerable to that one attack. The "economics" of hacking definitely favor the hacker.
By the way, speaking of vulnerabilities in Windows, did you know that the Diebold machines run Windows? Doesn't it give you a warm, secure feeling, thinking about Windows' track record for security?