Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Are voting machines the next target of Russian hacking? One security expert thinks so.

And sorry, Silicon Valley, internet voting isn’t the solution.

Don’t click here!
Don’t click here!
Don’t click here!

In case you missed it Friday, well-known security expert and blogger Bruce Schneier penned a very disturbing piece about how the recent hacks of Democratic computer systems are just the start of possible incursions.

Next up? Voting machines that have long been thought to be too insecure and the separate state-run patchwork of them that makes it worse.

“We have to accept that someone is attacking our nation’s computer systems in an apparent attempt to influence a presidential election. This kind of cyber attack targets the very core of our democratic process. And it points to the possibility of an even worse problem in November ­that our election systems and our voting machines could be vulnerable to a similar attack.”

Schneier recommends that we need to “create tiger teams to test the machines’ and systems’ resistance to attack, drastically increase their cyber-defenses and take them offline if we can’t guarantee their security online.”

Schneier does make the salient point that governments, including the U.S., have interfered in foreign elections before, but notes an attempt on this scale is unprecedented.

Also important: Having voter-verified paper trails and that there be no internet voting. That’s right, Silicon Valley; maybe digital is okay for Tinder but swiping right and left isn’t for an election.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh