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  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

  • BBC Learning English. I'm Rob.

  • And I'm Sam.

  • When it comes to US presidential

  • elections, some are more

  • dramatic than others.

  • But few elections have been as

  • controversial as this November's

  • contest between current president

  • Trump and his Democratic

  • rival, Joe Biden.

  • In America, where many votes are cast

  • digitally, there is a risk of

  • cyber-attacks on election

  • day and with so much depending on

  • the result, US election

  • officials are worried.

  • In this programme we'll be hearing

  • about plans to preven

  • election cyber-attacks which

  • involve election officials working with

  • a very unusual group of people:

  • volunteer hackers.

  • Volunteers are people who work willingly,

  • without being paid...

  • ... and hackers are people who break

  • into computer systems without

  • permission in order to find

  • information or do something illegal.

  • But cyber-attacks from hackers

  • are not the only threat to fair

  • and democratic elections.

  • In 2000 the presidential race between

  • Al Gore and George W. Bush ended

  • in recounts and disputes

  • over missing votes. George Bush

  • became the first modern president

  • to win the election

  • despite gaining fewer popular votes than

  • his opponent - but how many

  • fewer? That's our

  • quiz question - how many fewer votes did

  • Bush win than Gore in the 2000

  • American presidential

  • election? Was it: a) half a million votes?,

  • b) a million votes?,

  • or c) two million votes?

  • I'll say b) a million votes.

  • OK, we'll find out later. Now, the project

  • Sam mentioned, where official

  • administrators team up with

  • expert volunteers to keep the election

  • secure, is called The Election

  • Cyber Surge.

  • BBC World Service programme Digital

  • Planet met up with project

  • organiser Maya Worman

  • to discuss the importance of keeping

  • the election free from interference.

  • Any attempt to manipulate or interfere

  • with election infrastructures -

  • the machines or the

  • information sets that determine

  • who is eligible to vote and

  • where - undermines the

  • right to vote. And it puts burdens on

  • voters and it impacts public

  • confidence; and high-profile

  • elections, especially like the one coming

  • up, heighten the types of risks that we're

  • talking about.

  • You can only vote in an election

  • if you are eligible - qualified by

  • having the necessary

  • requirements, for example being a US

  • citizen who's aged 18 or over.

  • It's up to each of the eight thousand local

  • jurisdictions around the United States to

  • keep their area free from cyber-attacks

  • and misinformation - risks which

  • have increased

  • because the coming election is

  • so high-profile - attracting a lot of

  • attention and interest

  • from newspapers and the public.

  • The Cyber Surge project to put expert

  • volunteers in touch with local

  • officials aims to prevent

  • these risks. It covers everything from

  • making sure administrators are

  • using the latest anti-virus

  • software to more serious

  • threats from troublemakers.

  • Now that's got me thinking actually, Rob.

  • Suppose I'm a troublemaker

  • who wants to influence

  • the election result - so I sign up as

  • a volunteer and gain access

  • to all kinds of information.

  • How do we know that the volunteers

  • who sign up are trustworthy?

  • That's a good question, Sam, and one

  • that BBC World Service programme,

  • Digital Planet,

  • put to Maya Worman:

  • The expectation is not that the volunteer

  • will have the keys to the

  • castle by any means,

  • more that they will have an open dialogue

  • with an election administrator

  • who wants to

  • know more to explore cybersecurity

  • enhancements in general or specifically.

  • Volunteers are carefully selected

  • according to their experience

  • and skills in cybersecurity -

  • measures that help organisations and

  • countries keep their computer

  • information safe against

  • crimes and attacks carried out

  • through the internet.

  • Volunteers share their expert advice by

  • talking with election officials.

  • They won't be given

  • access to sensitive information so they

  • won't have the keys to the

  • castle - an idiom meaning

  • to possess information or knowledge

  • which gives the possessor

  • access to power.

  • All of which means that the 2020 election

  • result will, hopefully,

  • be accepted by everyone.

  • Unlike the situation twenty years ago.

  • Ah, you mean our quiz question, Rob,

  • about the 2000 US presidential

  • election which George

  • W. Bush won despite securing fewer

  • votes than his opponent.

  • I asked you how many fewer votes Bush

  • won than Al Gore that year.

  • And I said b) a million votes.

  • But in fact, it was even closer - just

  • a) half a million votes in Florida.

  • In this programme we've been looking

  • ahead to the US presidential elections

  • and its cybersecurity -

  • measures taken to protect countries

  • and their computer information

  • against online

  • crimes and attacks.

  • The Cyber Surge project aims to put

  • officials in touch with volunteers -

  • people who work

  • for free, who also happen to be expert

  • hackers - people who break into

  • computer systems

  • without permission.

  • But the idea isn't to commit election crime

  • - rather to prevent it by making sure only

  • those who are eligible - or qualified -

  • to vote do so.

  • The project was set up because

  • the November 2020 election has become

  • so high-profile - attracting

  • a lot of attention and interest from

  • the public and the media.

  • And of course the volunteers themselves

  • are carefully chosen to

  • be impartial experts who

  • give advice without holding the keys to

  • the castle - an idiom

  • about possessing information

  • which gives access to power.

  • What's certain is that the world will be

  • watching this election, so if you're eligible,

  • remember to vote.

  • And remember to join us again soon.

  • Bye for now!

  • Bye bye!

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