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The vast majority of Ohios county boards of elections havent installed the digital burglar alarm that Secretary of State Frank LaRose says helped his office detect a hacking attempt of his offices website on Election Day.

With less than two months to go before the deadline LaRose imposed for installation of the so-called Albert systems, just 13 out of Ohios 88 county boards of elections have operational alarms. The remaining 75 have until Jan. 31 to install them.

The most important consequence is not being prepared, LaRose said Friday after the start of a daylong security conference for county elections officials in Columbus. This is too important to take lightly.

Franklin County has had an Albert sensor in place since May 2018, with other network sensors in place at the Franklin County data center before that.

But even with the threat of digital attacks, LaRose said Ohios election procedures are secure. None of the equipment used to cast or tally ballots is connected to the internet. Doing so would violate Ohio law.

In June, LaRose issued a security directive to county boards instructing them to install the alarms, conduct assessments and training on physical threats and cybersecurity and change email systems, among other measures.

So far, 52 counties have completed half of the security directives instructions, and all of them have requested security support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Stark moving forward

Sean Durkin, director of information technology for Stark County, said his department is in the process of installing the Albert systems that detect online intrusions. And it is on track to finish by the January deadline set by the Secretary of State.

Durkin declined to provide specifics, citing security.

"I'm not comfortable stating where we are exactly with that," Durkin said. "But we are moving along just fine with all the changes they've asked us to implement. We look to be fully compliant by the they said (the Secretary of State's directive) had to be fulfilled by."

Stark County Auditor Alan Harold, who oversees Durkin's department, said it's not clear yet what the costs to the county will be. Under the agreement, the county is responsible for the costs of maintaining the hardware and software provided by Center for Internet Security.

Durkin said in compliance with the Secretary of State's directive, his department performed security assessments of the Board of Elections' computers between April and August and the county's email system is in compliance with the Secretary of State's standards.

LaRose said he is optimistic about the prospects of the boards meeting the Jan. 31 deadline now that they are past the November election. That drew nervous laughter from the assembled elections officials.

The Election Day 2019 hacking attempt came from the Russian company OKPay Investment but was traced to Panama, according to the secretary of states office.

A real threat

LaRose has called the attack on his offices website unsophisticated, but on Friday he said it was different from the typical carpet bomb hacks that search for security holes. Instead, it specifically targeted the voter registration form on his website and the voter lookup tool that is used frequently on Election Day to find polling places and determine what is on the ballot.

The goal of such attacks is to undermine the credibility of elections in the minds of voters and make the average voter wonder if its worth it to go to the polls, he said.

We know that the threat is very real, LaRose said. We know that the threat comes from a variety of sources, that these sources include state actors, that these sources include people with motivations such as financial reward or notoriety or fame.

The state hopes to combat some of what LaRose called dedicated and well-resourced opponents with the launch of a cyber reserve under the Ohio National Guard. That was created with the passage of an elections-security bill earlier this year.

The cyber reserve will operate similarly to the military reservists in the National Guard, with regular training and mobilization initiated by Gov. Mike DeWine. The state is recruiting cyber professionals across the state to be part of the first cyber reserve teams, which should be up and running by the end of January, said Maj. Gen. John Harris, adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard.

The goal of the reservists will be to mitigate consequences of a cyberattack and to return systems that have been attacked to working order, Harris said. They will be available for hacks of any government entity, not just elections boards.

In a room full of elections officials in jackets, ties and dresses, Harris said he made the conscious decision to don military fatigues, as he always does when discussing cybersecurity, to make a point about the digital war that is being waged.

Policy around the digital fight is lagging, he said. He compared the current way government addresses cybersecurity to a military group under attack that just keeps building thicker walls rather than mounting an offensive.

"We dont think about the digital battlefield and the importance of the digital battlefield. We are engaged today in a pretty significant digital fight, Harris said. "It is truly a persistent fight and one we're engaged in every single day."

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Few Ohio county boards of elections have adopted digital alarm used to detect hacks - Canton Repository

Have you heard the term the Internet of Bodies (IoB)? That may conjure up a few thoughts that have nothing to do with the true nature of the term, but it's about using the human body as the latest data platform. At first, this concept seems quite creepy, but then when you realize the possibilities it creates, it becomes quite exciting. Here we explore what the Internet of Bodies is, some examples in use today, and a few of the challenges it presents.

What Is The Internet Of Bodies? And How Is It Changing Our World?

What is the Internet of Bodies (IoB)?

When the Internet of Things (IoT) connects with your body, the result is the Internet of Bodies (IoB). The Internet of Bodies (IoB) is an extension of the IoT and basically connects the human body to a network through devices that are ingested, implanted, or connected to the body in some way. Once connected, data can be exchanged, and the body and device can be remotely monitored and controlled.

There are three generations of Internet of Bodies that include:

Body external: These are wearable devices such as Apple Watches or Fitbits that can monitor our health.

Body internal: These include pacemakers, cochlear implants, and digital pills that go inside our bodies to monitor or control various aspects of our health.

Body embedded: The third generation of the Internet of Bodies is embedded technology where technology and the human body are melded together and have a real-time connection to a remote machine.

Progress in wireless connectivity, materials, and tech innovation is allowing implantable medical devices (IMD) to scale and be viable in many applications.

Examples of Internet of Bodies Devices in Use or Development

The most recognized example of Internet of Bodies is a defibrillator or pacemaker, a small device placed in the abdomen or chest to help patients with heart conditions control abnormal heart rhythms with electrical impulses. In 2013, former United States Vice President Dick Cheney got his WiFi-connected defibrillator replaced with one without WiFi capacity. It was feared that he could be assassinated by electric shock if a rogue agent hacked the device.

A smart pill is another IoB device. These pills have edible electronic sensors and computer chips in them. Once swallowed, these digital pills can collect data from our organs and then send it to a remote device connected to the internet. The first digital chemotherapy pill is now in use that combines chemotherapy drugs with a sensor that captures, records, and shares information with healthcare providers (with the patients consent) regarding the drug dosage and time, plus other data on rest and activity, heart rate and more.

Smart contact lenses are being developed that integrate sensors and chips that can monitor health diagnostics based on information from the eye and eye fluid. One smart contact lens in development aims to monitor glucose levels that will hopefully allow diabetics to monitor their glucose levels without repeated pinpricks throughout the day.

Taking it up a notch is the Brain Computer Interface (BCI), where a person's brain is actually merged with an external device for monitoring and controlling in real-time. The ultimate goal is to help restore function to individuals with disabilities by using brain signals rather than conventional neuromuscular pathways.

But not all Internet of Bodies use cases are for healthcare reasons. Bioengineering company, Biohax has embedded chips in more than 4,000 people primarily for convenience. In one widely reported example, 50 employees of Three Square Market agreed to have an RFID microchip the size of a large grain of rice (similar to whats embedded in pets to be able to identify and locate them when they are lost) implanted. This chip allows these employees to gain access to the building without a key, pay for items with a wave of their hand at the vending machine by deducting the amount immediately from their account rather than use money and log onto their computers.

Challenges Faced by Internet of Bodies Technology

The situation of U.S. Vice President Cheney getting a defibrillator not connected to WiFi for security reasons illustrates one of the biggest challenges faced by Internet of Bodies technologyhow to secure the devices and information they collect and transmit. Nearly half a million pacemakers were recalled in 2017 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over security issues requiring a firmware update. The security challenges faced by Internet of Bodies tech are similar to what plagues Internet of Things generally, but there can be life and death consequences when IoB devices are involved. Additionally, IoB devices create another cyber security challenge that will need to be safeguarded from hackers.

Privacy is also of paramount concern. Questions about who can access the data and for what purpose need answers. For example, a device that monitors health diagnostics could also track unhealthy behaviors. Will health insurance companies be able to deny coverage when a customers IoB device reports their behavior?A cochlear implant could restore hearing, but it might also record all audio in a persons environment. Will that data remain private?

As Internet of Bodies tech continues to grow, regulatory and legal issues will have to be resolved and policies built around the proper use of the technology.

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What Is The Internet Of Bodies? And How Is It Changing Our World? - Forbes

Chinese video sharing app TikTok.

Hi, my name is Daniel and I have a problem. A TikTok problem.

After dismissing it for months, TikTok was thrust upon me last month at, of all things, a bachelor party in Hong Kong. It was a little like The Hangover, but subtract drugs, strippers and Mike Tyson's tiger and replace it with a Chinese video app aimed at 16-year-olds.

And now I'm addicted. A feed comprised of millions of silly videos from people around the world, curated to my taste by artificial intelligence. I never really stood a chance. Recent favorites include a dog getting its nails clipped, a teen runner belly flopping into a pool of mud mid-race, and a stoner interrupting a college lecture to heat up popcorn with a microwave he brought from home.

TikTok stands out from other social media in one key way: You actually feel good after using it.Expanding Facebook friend counts lead to people sharing less, making the platform feel sterile. Studies show Instagram, acting as a highlight reel of other people's artificial lives, is harmful to self-esteem. Twitter is designed to be a platform for open conversation, but reduces people, arguments and ideas into 280-character caricatures.

Do you remember the last time you felt satisfied after using any of these apps? I don't. Not only do I remember the last time I felt satisfied post-TikTok (yesterday), TikTok has brought me closer to friends and colleagues. We share videos and laugh. We bond, which is what Facebook, Instagram and Twitter fail at.

But TikTok has to go.

My problem with the app isn't its guarantee to waste too much of my time. Though TikTok distinguishes itself by being fun to use, its parent company is like many Silicon Valley giants in one key way: It can't be trusted.

Paying attention to TikTok the app has made it necessary to pay attention to TikTok the company. And it's not a pretty sight.

The app is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, currently the most valuable startup in the world. Being a company of any importance in China means working with the ruling Communist Party in some capacity. Tech platforms in the past have not only had to purge any mention of Tiananmen Square Massacre or Tibetan independence, but also remove "subversive" imagery like Winnie the Pooh and Peppa Pig.

"Firms such as Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, Alibaba, and Baidu have no meaningful ability to tell the Chinese Communist Party 'no' if officials decide to ask for their assistance," said US International Security bureaucrat Christopher Ashley Ford at a conference in September.

Like Huawei, TikTok denies this charge. The New York Times in November asked TikTok boss Alex Zhu what he would do if President Xi Jinping personally requested that he take down a video or share user data. "I would turn him down," Zhu proclaimed.

So it was a little suspicious when news broke that TikTok had taken down the profile of an American teenager promoting awareness about China's disastrous human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. TikTok says the 17-year-old's account was disabled not because of that video, but in relation to a TikTok featuring imagery of Osama Bin Laden.

It's an eyebrow raiser for sure, but plausible. Unfortunately for TikTok, and people like me who just want to love TikTok, the app has had a spectacular run of bad news since.

TikTok boss Alex Zhu told the New York Times he would deny a personal request for data or content moderation from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California claims the app has been illegally and secretly harvesting personally identifiable user data and sending it to China. A report out of Germany found TikTok had been hiding videos posted by LGBTQ and disabled users from people's feeds, which TikTok said was a temporary anti-bullying measure. A think tank backed by Australia's Department of Defense called ByteDance a "vector for censorship and surveillance," adding that it "collaborates with public security bureaus across China."

For its part, TikTok says it doesn't operate in China -- the country has an app called Douyin which is essentially TikTok with a different name and stricter, China-specific content guidelines -- and that it has no data centers in the country. "TikTok does not remove content based on sensitivities related to China," a spokesperson said. "We have never been asked by the Chinese government to remove any content and we would not do so if asked. Period."

TikTok is a platform filled with much-needed mindless mirth, and was the springboard for noted banger Ol' Town Road. But when you stack that up against accusations of harvesting user data, censoring what the Chinese Communist Party doesn't like and its parent company's alleged active assistance in human rights violations, it almost seems like it's not worth it.

A thought exercise: If you could go back in time and stop yourself and everyone around you from downloading Facebook, would you?

In 2019, Facebook feels inescapable. Dissatisfied users grumble about how they would delete it if they could, and it seems the ongoing privacy catastrophes do little to damage the company. Regulating Facebook fairly would be a tricky balancing act US lawmakers are reluctant to attempt.

Click for more Boom With a View.

No one could have expected this in 2008, when Facebook overtook Myspace to become the world's biggest social media site. Conversely, TikTok is just 3 years young but the red flags are already there.

It's hard to say what the ramifications of its huge user base could be but, based on past experience with social media giants plus the nature of business in China, we can guess it's probably not good. The US government isn't idling, with the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) already investigating the national security risks of TikTok and ByteDance, according to Reuters.

But governments move slowly, and tech companies move fast. Unlike Facebook, TikTok isn't yet too big to fail. But it certainly feels like we're at a crossroads. Support it now and potentially create a problem, or play it safe by giving up TikTok.

The reasonable choice to make is clear: When it comes to TikTok, just say no. But we're all pretty bad when it comes to making the reasonable choice. If we weren't, cigarettes wouldn't exist.

Even being a tech journalist aware of its issues, I don't want to give TikTok up. I'm guessing many of the hundreds of millions of teens who make up the app's main user base, and who largely don't know or care about the implications of an ascendant ByteDance, are less keen to hit uninstall.

It's time to admit it. We all have a TikTok problem.

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TikTok is the best place on the internet, but we have to say no - CNET