BBC Learnings · Section 7

Hacking help for US elections

When it comes to US presidential elections, some are more dramatic than others.

Level: C1 · 105 sentences

Transcript

  1. When it comes to US presidential elections,
  2. some are more dramatic than others.
  3. But few elections have been as controversial as this November's contest
  4. between current President Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
  5. In America, where many votes are cast digitally...
  6. there is a risk of cyber attacks on election day.
  7. And with so much depending on the result, US election officials are worried.
  8. In this programme, we'll be hearing
  9. about plans to prevent election cyber attacks,
  10. which involve election officials working with a very unusual group of people, volunteer hackers.
  11. Volunteers are people who work willingly without being paid.
  12. And hackers are people who break into computer systems without permission
  13. in order to find information or do something illegal.
  14. But cyber attacks from hackers are not the only
  15. threat to fair and democratic elections.
  16. In 2000, the presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush
  17. ended in recounts and disputes over missing votes.
  18. George Bush became the first modern president to win
  19. the election despite gaining fewer popular votes than his opponent.
  20. but how many fewer?
  21. That's our quiz question.
  22. How many fewer votes did Bush win than Gore
  23. in the 2000 American presidential election?
  24. Was it a half a million votes,
  25. b a million votes, or c two million votes?
  26. I'll say b – a million votes.
  27. OK. We'll find out later.
  28. Now, the project Sam mentioned where official administrators team up
  29. with expert volunteers to keep the election secure
  30. is called the election cyber surge.
  31. The BBC World Service programme Digital Planet met up
  32. with project organiser Maya Warman to discuss the importance
  33. of keeping the election free from interference.
  34. Any attempt to manipulate or interfere with election infrastructures,
  35. the machines or the information sets
  36. that determine who is eligible to vote
  37. and where undermines the right to vote.
  38. And it puts burdens on voters and it impacts public confidence.
  39. And high profile elections, especially like the one coming up,
  40. heighten the types of risks that we're talking about.
  41. You can only vote in an election if you're eligible,
  42. qualified by having the necessary requirements,
  43. For example, being a US citizen who's aged 18 or over.
  44. It's up to each of the 8,000 local jurisdictions
  45. around the United States to keep their area
  46. free from cyber attacks and misinformation,
  47. risks which have increased because the coming election is so high profile,
  48. attracting a lot of attention and interest from newspapers and the public.
  49. The Cyber Surge Project to put expert volunteers in touch
  50. with local officials aims to prevent these risks.
  51. It covers everything from making sure administrators are using
  52. the latest antivirus software to more serious threats from troublemakers.
  53. Now that's got me thinking actually, Rob.
  54. Suppose I'm a troublemaker who wants to influence the election result,
  55. so I sign up as a volunteer
  56. and gain access to all kinds of information.
  57. How do we know that the volunteers who sign up are trustworthy?
  58. That's a good question, Sam.
  59. and one that BBC World Service programme Digital Planet put to Maya Warman.
  60. The expectation is not that the volunteer
  61. will have the keys to the castle by any means,
  62. more that they will have an open dialogue
  63. with an election administrator who wants to know
  64. more to explore cybersecurity enhancements in general or specifically.
  65. Volunteers are carefully selected according to their experience and skills in cybersecurity.
  66. measures that help organisations and countries keep
  67. their computer information safe against crimes
  68. and attacks carried out through the internet.
  69. Volunteers share their expert advice by talking with election officials.
  70. They won't be given access to sensitive information
  71. so they won't have the keys to the castle,
  72. an idiom meaning to possess information
  73. or knowledge which gives the possessor access to power.
  74. All of which means that the 2020 election result
  75. will hopefully be accepted by everyone.
  76. Unlike the situation 20 years ago.
  77. Ah, you mean our quiz question, Rob,
  78. about the 2000 US presidential election which George W Bush
  79. won despite securing fewer votes than his opponent.
  80. I asked you how many fewer votes Bush
  81. won than Al Gore that year.
  82. And I said b – a million votes.
  83. But in fact, it was even closer –
  84. just a – half a million votes in Florida.
  85. In this programme, we've been looking
  86. ahead to the US presidential elections
  87. and its cyber security – measures taken to protect countries
  88. and their computer information against online crimes and attacks.
  89. The Cyber Surge Project aims to put officials
  90. in touch with volunteers – people who work for free.
  91. who also happen to be expert hackers,
  92. people who break into computer systems without permission.
  93. But the idea isn't to commit election crime,
  94. rather to prevent it by making sure
  95. only those who are eligible or qualified to vote
  96. do so. The project was set up
  97. because the November 2020 election has become so high profile,
  98. attracting a lot of attention and interest
  99. from the public and the media.
  100. And of course, the volunteers themselves
  101. are carefully chosen to be impartial experts
  102. who give advice without holding the keys to the castle –
  103. an idiom about possessing information which gives access to power.
  104. What's certain is that the world will be watching this election.
  105. So, if you're eligible, remember to vote.