Electronic voting

2016 is the presidential election year in the United States and many people all over the world are eagerly waiting to see who the next President will be. One area which is undergoing change as a result of technology is of course voting. In recent years, considerable interest has been generated in relation to electronic voting. However, electronic and/or online voting is inadvisable for several reasons. Anonymity is a critical aspect of voting in any democracy. Anything that compromises voting anonymity can lead to corruption or bribery. With that in mind, here are few things to bear in mind in regard to electronic voting machines.

1. The first problem is how to audit the electronic voting machine. How can you really ensure that whatever software you decide to use on the voting machine, will actually be the software on the machine on election day? However secure you may think the voting machines are, they cannot be absolutely secure.

2. Votes in transit. Whatever way you decide to transmit the voting data from the machines to the final count will contain risk of interference. However securely you may try to transmit the voting data, risks will be involved.

3. The central count program. This is the program that will take all of the voting numbers and calculate the final result. This program will be susceptible to hacking, however securely you try to protect it.

In view of the fact that somewhere between 5% and 50% of all desktop computers worldwide are infected with some kind of virus, we must be extremely careful in regard to how we design electronic voting software or hardware. The video below carefully addresses the points above and explains why electronic or online voting is inadvisable. As we embrace caution, it is important that we proceed with caution, particularly as it relates to politics. There is a huge incentive for people to skew electoral results so that they can ensure that their chosen candidate or party gets into power. In view of the political turmoil all over the world right now, this could be potentially disastrous. On top of that, we must never lose sight of the fundamental principles upon which democracy is based, namely accountability, transparency and control of the abuse of power. 


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David Bowie's legacy

The world has been deeply saddened over the past few days to learn of the unfortunate passing of an extremely talented musician, David Bowie. Bowie truly was a musical revolutionary who will be remembered for decades as one of the greatest musicians of his time. However, as well as being a brilliant musician, Bowie was also an Internet pioneer. That is to say, Bowie was ahead of his time when he launched his internet service BowieNet in 1998. Few other artists in the late nineties provided any online material to their fans. BowieNet also operated as a full internet service provider in the UK and the US, competing with the likes of AOL and others. In interviews during the nineties, Bowie said that he expected the internet to have a huge effect on the music industry. How right he was. Bowie's website was the first attempt to create an online community around a rock star and it worked extremely well. Bowie also produced BowieWorld, a 3D chat environment offered via his site. Many other artists around the world have now taken Bowie's lead and harnessed the online world to promote their music. What Bowie achieved will truly be remembered for a long time. This video below is a brief yet poignant tribute to the great artist. 

Security threats for 2016

Although 2015 witnessed many exciting developments within the Internet of Things, it was also the year that the Internet of Things got hacked. Some notable examples of security breaches last year include the Ashley Madison incident and the hack into InvestBank in the United Arab Emirates. As fears about cybercrime become exacerbated, here are some areas in which we can expect to see further security breaches in 2016.

1. Extortion hacking. This is where hackers threaten to release sensitive data unless the victim pays money or meets some other demand. Public release of sensitive data can potentially ruin someone's career or personal life, so extortion hacking can be brutally effective. In cases where victims give in to the demands of the hacker, the public may never know about the hacking. Such attacks will unfortunately become more prevalent in 2016.

2. Data manipulation attacks. Cyber attacks that change or manipulate data have become a major area of concern now. When hackers succeed in infiltrating a system and altering data, the effects can be catastrophic. For instance, if hackers could penetrate a stock trading system, they could force stock prices to either rise or fall, thus altering the global markets. Data sabotage that comprises the integrity of weapons systems could be hazardous to global security. 

3. Chip and PIN hacking. Last year saw a rise in Chip and PIN fraud. Banks have responded by designing improved Chip and PIN cards in order to circumvent such incidents, but hackers are ever vigilant for opportunities to exploit in this area. Banks will need to continue to maintain high level security measures in order to thwart hackers. However, as someone once said, the biggest security risk for any bank is its customers. If customers are careless with their banking data, hackers will have ample opportunity to hack into bank accounts and steal funds.

4. Zombie botnets. Last year we witnessed connected cars, medical devices and skateboards get hacked. There is an emerging trend for commandeering of IoT devices for botnets. This means that CCTV cameras can be turned into botnet armies in order to launch DDOS attacks. This will unfortunately become a major risk this year.

Cybersecurity will be critically important as we move forward into the Internet of Things. Cybersecurity specialists will become highly sought after individuals worlwide in view of the increase in risks. Now is an exciting time to be alive. This year promises to be an interesting one in terms of the technological developments in store. But every new development brings with it opportunities for hackers. So vigilance and care as always are extremely important. 

Technology of 2016

As we enter 2016 it's important to take a moment to reflect on some of the extraordinary developments we have witnessed over the course of the past year within the tech space. There is no doubt that we are standing on the threshold of one of the most significant milestones in history. Of particular interest will be phone chargers, mainstream 3D printers for home use and 3D apps. Virtual reality technology like the Oculus rift will also garner enormous attention worldwide. Many of these cutting edge developments are ready to go but it will be quite some time before they become mainstream all over the world. As Sci-Fi author William Gibson once quipped, the future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed. The video below is well worth watching to get an inkling of what we can expect to see this year. 

SpaceX unmanned rocket

Aerospace manufacturer SpaceX made history on December 21st by safely returning a first stage rocket back to the ground at Cape Canaveral, the first such accomplishment of its kind. Drone technology has already revolutionized the military and is beginning to make inroads into other areas of our lives. Unmanned rockets could truly revolutionize the whole world. The possibilities for space exploration are staggering. But as with all technological breakthroughs, caution must always be advised. Unmanned rockets are only as safe and reliable as the humans who design them. Nonetheless, this field may hold enormous potential for making the world a better place to live for everyone. Interesting to see what the next developments in unmanned rockets will be. The BBC video below is worth watching to capture the mood surrounding this extraordinary development. 

2016 Tech IPOs

This year was not good for tech IPOs for multiple different reasons. Hopefully 2016 will be a more promising year in this regard. Many of the companies that made their IPO this year have not done particularly well, largely due to the fact that the technology sector has become much more competitive. Investors are less willing to take high risks on companies that do not have a very strong business model or the ability to generate high profitability. Tech unicorns are becoming more difficult to find. That said, there is huge potential right now for tech startups with strong products that help to resolve a problem that people or companies are facing at present. The interview below is worth watching to glean insights on tech startups for the coming year. The Biotech startup space is worth watching now for exciting developments. There are so many high quality startups in the pipeline right now that next year should yield great things.

The future of education

To paraphrase Nelson Mandela, education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. The whole world has changed rapidly within the last century and especially within the last decade. Scientific and technological advances have enabled us to learn extraordinary things about the universe we live in. Ten year olds today know more about the universe than their grandparents knew at the age of thirty. So we are living in a very different world to that of our grandparents, yet our educational system is essentially the same as it was fifty years ago. This needs to change now. 

The education system must become engaging, interactive and flexible in order to maximise the intelligence potential of future generations. The reason why this is critical is because the future of our economy and our world will be dependent on human intelligence. We are living in a very exciting day and age. Just think of the extraordinary advances within robotics, artificial intelligence, medical science and renewable energy to reflect upon the exciting developments just around the corner. However, we also face a number of major challenges, principally in relation to the environment and overpopulation, amongst others. In order to combat these formidable challenges, we will need a generation who are equipped with diverse skills, the ability to think out of the box and an imaginative mindset. Currently, our education system is not accomplishing this as much as it could.

The current system, that which we inherited from the British empire, focuses heavily on rote-learning and conventional learning methods. The new system must be geared towards teaching children how to think rather than what to think. Our education system must allow children the opportunity to freely express their thoughts and opinions. Although a certain amount of rote-learning will always be necessary, our education system must encourage children to develop creative solutions to problems. One particular type of school that is excellent in encouraging this type of learning is the Montessori school. Many leaders of today’s cutting edge technology companies attended Montessori schools. Some notable examples would be Larry Page of Google, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia. Montessori schools allow children the option to choose activities that stimulate creative intelligence. This is precisely the type of approach that all schools need to adopt. Tomorrow’s schools need to encourage children to develop lateral thinking, that is, out of the box thinking.

The scientific method has taught us is that many truths about our universe are counterintuitive to what we might have expected. Before Galileo and Kopernicus, many people would have laughed at the idea that the earth is round, rotates on its axis and rovolves around the Sun. People in Roman times would have been flabbergasted to know that our Sun is only one of about two hundred billion stars in the Milky way galaxy, and that there are billions of galaxies just like ours throughout the universe. Our universe is indeed vaster, more and more complex than we could ever have imagined.

In the ten thousand years or so that have passed since the agricultural revolution, we have built civilisations across the world, learned how to use electricity and put a man on the moon. And we’re only just beginning to figure it all out! We have many more challenges ahead of us. But the answers to many questions we face is often the opposite to what we might expect. The education system of the future must embrace out of the box thinking, encourage our children to ask questions and search hard for solutions that may not be immediately obvious. Galileo, Kopernicus, Newton, Einstein and Darwin would surely agree. No great discovery was ever made by following conventional rules!