Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Are you worried that the next time you vote, some person out there...or country...might hack your ballot?
Help is on the way from hackers. Really.
People who run elections in LA County will be headed to Las Vegas this week for the hacker conference DefCon.
Hackers will conduct mock attacks on voting systems and voter databases, while computer specialists for the county will try to stop them.
"We're still talking every day about the 2016 elections," says Dean Logan, LA County Registrar-Recorder, "and the possibilities that people tried to access voter registration records and that there's an interest in trying to mess with voting equipment."
Logan hopes his team walks away with strategies on how to protect databases and technology in a way that makes them less susceptible to intrusion.
It comes at a time when his department is also testing out various systems as part of a $15 million dollar update to the voting process.
"This will help us kick the tires and look at what manufacturers and consultants are doing," he says.