VOA标准英语2016--黑客很可能下一步将袭击电子投票仪

US Cyber Pros¹: Hackers⁴ Could Hit Electronic Voting Machines Next 黑客很可能下一步将袭击电子投票仪

WASHINGTON—

U.S. cyber security professionals say suspected foreign hackers who recently attacked computer systems of the Democratic Party could do something even more sinister⁵ in the future.

The cyber pros, who appeared on this week's Hashtag VOA program, said U.S. electronic voting systems are likely to be among the next targets.

When the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks published leaked emails of the U.S. Democratic National Committee last month, it caused major embarrassment⁶ to the party, and forced U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to quit her position as the DNC chairperson.

Cybersecurity analyst⁷ Richard Forno said that outcome shows foreign hackers can achieve political goals and incentivizes them to escalate⁸ their attacks.

"Interfering⁹ with the electoral and political process of countries is a classic tool of intelligence and foreign policy,” said Forno, who directs the University of Maryland’s Center for Cybersecurity. “Even though we are moving toward an era of electronic and technology-enabled voting in more places, this [DNC cyberattack] reinforces the fact that the traditional threats are still with us, and are now moving further into cyberspace¹⁰."

Electronic voting machines are part of that cyberspace. The vast majority of U.S. states will use them for this November's national elections.

But a 2015 study by New York University found that 43 of those states had machines that were at least a decade old.

Could they be hacked¹¹ as well? Cyber security pros attending an annual Las Vegas conference known as Black Hat think so.

Attack in Ukraine

One of them is Toni Gidwani, research director at ThreatConnect, a cyberdefense platform used by 1,200 companies and organizations worldwide. She said there is a precedent¹² for attacks on voting systems. 

"We saw that in Ukraine in 2014, where three days before the election, the Ukrainian central election committee suffered a massive hack² that threatened their ability to hold voting on schedule,” she said. “And then malware was discovered right before results were announced – malware that would have projected a totally different outcome in which an ultranationalist candidate, who in reality received less than 1 percent of the vote, would have won. So this is not science fiction - we have already seen this happen."

Some U.S. voting machines produce paper records that can be used in case of problems with a vote count. But keeping a paper trail might not be enough.

Yong-Gon Chon, another Black Hat attendee, said any organization seeking to protect itself from hackers needs all of its personnel to play their part.

"It is no longer just the responsibility of a chief security officer or CIO to protect an organization's infrastructure¹³ - everyone has a role to play,” said Chon, who serves as CEO of Cyber Risk Management and has led global security teams for more than 20 years. “There is a shared level of responsibility, whether you are using cloud systems or your own systems within your organizations. And ultimately it is about being able to practice safe and healthy (cyber) activities on a day to day basis."

One healthy habit recommended by Chon is being skeptical¹⁴ when you receive an email containing a hyperlink¹⁵ that could expose you to a hacker³.

“You should determine whether or not that is something that you should trust and is acceptable for your business,” he said.

1 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

3 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

4 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

5 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

9 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

10 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

11 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

15 hyperlink   

n.超链接

参考例句：

• The database is fully hyperlinked both within the database and to thousands of external links.该数据库在其内部以及和数千个外部链接之间充分实现了超链接。
• When you click on a graphic and a video clip plays,you have clicked on a hyperlink.当您按下一个图形和视频剪辑的发挥，你点击了一个超链接。