American Government & Politics class hosts talk and Q&A with election cybersecurity expert Matt Bishop

As part of a BIS 175 American Government & Politics course that focused on voting rights and elections, a recent class hosted a Skype talk and class Q&A with world-renowned election cybersecurity expert Matt Bishop (U.C. Davis, author of widely used textbook Computer Security: Art and Science).

Student Zach Ruble helped to organize the event, along with Professor Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, Director of UWB’s Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity in Education. The format of the event started with Barbara interviewing Matt on his recent work advising states on the security (and lack thereof) of electronic voting machines.

Conversation ranged from the accuracy of such machines, the ability of hackers to infiltrate tabulations, and the efforts of foreign actors like Russia and China in federal elections. Students were able to ask questions about whether we should be frightened by our dependence on vulnerable electronic voting machines (Matt Bishop: yes) and cynical about prospects to protect ourselves (Matt Bishop: no). The class appreciated his candor as he helped us to engage more deeply with threats to the integrity of the upcoming 2020 federal election.