Computer hacks and cybersecurity threats have been in the news a lot lately. Millions of Americans’ data were breached in the Equifax hack and a huge number of accounts were compromised at Yahoo. Worse than those reports, it was recently confirmed that Ohio was one of the 21 states reported on over the summer whose systems hackers attempted to breach in the lead up to the 2016 election. Foreign interference with our elections and the electronic machinery they run on is one of the biggest cyber threats we face because it’s a matter of national security. Our enemies want to create chaos at best and change outcomes of our elections at worst. It’s a direct attack on our society, the American way of life, and our ability to self-govern.
Our current understanding is that the 2016 hacking attempt failed in Ohio. But it’s unlikely that will be the last try. Cybersecurity experts warn that hackers are relentless and can even electronically erase their tracks if they do succeed in breaching our systems’ defenses.
It’s critically important that we start now to build resilience into our elections system so it can withstand attack. It’s no longer enough to say that our voting machines are safe because they’re not connected to the Internet. Nowadays, even standard items like coffee makers have built-in Wi-Fi. Entries to networks can be found where we would never have expected them five or 10 years ago. Malicious code can be transmitted via memory cards, thumb drives, or other means.
Full Article: Ohio must take steps to secure elections – The Blade.