Tech
From breach to resilience: How the Electoral Commission rebuilt its cyber defences | Computer Weekly
When most people think of critical national infrastructure (CNI), they tend to picture energy grids, transport networks, or hospitals. But the UK’s electoral system belongs firmly in that category too. It underpins our democracy, so protecting it from those who seek to disrupt our elections is an essential task. And the threat is real.
Around the world, electoral systems have faced a sharp rise in cyber-attacks in recent years. The UK experienced this first-hand in October 2022 when the Electoral Commission discovered its systems had been accessed in a sophisticated breach. While the attack did not affect the security of our elections, it exposed a number of vulnerabilities in the Commission’s systems and reminded us, and the wider IT community, how underinvestment can leave public bodies exposed.
Like many intrusions, the breach went undetected for longer than it should have. Our protections at the time were not strong enough to prevent the attack, and it took us longer than it should have to uncover. But recognising the scale of the problem became the catalyst for major change. We were able to act quickly alongside the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to remove the compromised systems, clean our network, and eventually rebuild our security infrastructure from the ground up. From the outset we knew this could not be about patching over weaknesses and that it had to be the start of a long-term programme of resilience.
Even before the incident, we had begun a wide-ranging programme of security improvements. Since then, we have accelerated and expanded this work: moving our infrastructure to the cloud, enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA), upgrading to Office365 E5 licences, and deploying 24/7 monitoring services. Staff now undergo continuous training, and we’ve signed up to the NCSC’s early warning system to detect threats before they escalate. We’ve tripled our annual spend on cyber security and embedded it into every aspect of how we operate. And as well as commanding the confidence of the NCSC and Information Commissioner’s Office, our improved IT systems have now received Cyber Essentials Plus certification for the first time, giving us, and our partners, assurance that we are adhering to the highest standards in information security. Taken together, these changes have given us a level of resilience that is better able to meet the challenges we face. Challenges that show no sign of abating.
On the day the 2024 UK general election was announced, we blocked two major DDoS attacks to our website, and on polling day itself, our strengthened systems blocked more than 60,000 attempted cyber attacks to our website. This ensured that the million users that visited our site that day were able to find the information they needed about how and where to vote. The lesson for IT leaders is clear: do not mistake your recent successes as the end of the journey. Cyber security is not a destination, but a constant process of monitoring, adapting, and strengthening. The threat landscape evolves daily, and malicious actors innovate just as quickly as the technologies they exploit. Complacency is the most dangerous vulnerability of all.
The Commission’s commitment now extends beyond shoring up our own defences. We are working with the UK’s governments, political parties, and other public bodies to share what we have learned and encourage organisations to strengthen their defences. If we are to maintain public confidence in democracy, every organisation within the electoral community must recognise the risks and be ready to respond to them. The dispersed nature of the UK’s electoral system is one of its strengths, making it harder for any single point of failure to undermine the whole, but that resilience still depends on every part doing its job and functioning correctly.
I would urge peers across IT leadership not to wait for an incident to expose your weaknesses. Invest in resilience now and engage with the right partners. Share learning across sectors. Cyber threats are a reality for us all, in both the public and private sectors. Our security lies in how we prepare and how we respond. For the Commission, the breach of 2021-22 was a wake-up call that provided us with an opportunity to rebuild stronger. Although we have now recovered, we will not take our success for granted. We will continue to ensure our security keeps pace with emerging and existing threats in order to safeguard the democratic process.
Andrew Simpson is head of digital, information, technology and facilities (DITF) at The Electoral Commission.
But you already know about this, because Fg is what normies call an object’s “weight,” and for a given volume, weight depends only on the density. Now, if you dropped these blocks in a lake, obviously the styrofoam would float and the steel would sink. So clearly it has something to do with density.
What if you had a block of water with the same volume? If you could somehow hold this cube of water, it would feel pretty heavy, about 62.4 pounds. Now, if you place it carefully in a lake, will it sink or bob on the surface like styrofoam? Neither, right? It’s just going to sit there.
Since it doesn’t move up or down, the total force on the block of water must be zero. That means there has to be a force counteracting gravity by pushing up with equal strength. We call this buoyancy, and for any object, the buoyancy force is equal to the weight of the water it displaces.
So let’s think about this. The steel block displaces the same amount of water, so it has the same upward-pushing buoyancy force as the block of water. But because it’s denser and has more mass, down it goes.
In general, an object will sink if the gravitational force exceeds the buoyancy force, and it will float if the buoyancy force exceeds the gravitational force. Another way of saying that is, an object will sink if it’s denser than water and it will float if it’s less dense.
And right in the middle an object will neither sink nor rise to the surface—we call that neutral buoyancy. Humans are pretty close to neutral because our bodies are 60 percent water. That’s why you feel weightless underwater—the buoyancy force pretty much offsets the gravitational force.
Avast! Hold on there, matey. Aircraft carriers are made of steel and weigh 100,000 tons, so why do they float? Can you guess? It’s because of their shape. Unlike a block of steel, a ship’s hull is hollow and filled with air, so it has a large volume relative to its weight.
But what if you start filling it with cargo? The ship gets heavier, which means it must displace more water to reach that equilibrium point. In general, when you launch a boat or ship into the water, it’ll sink down until the weight of the water it pushes aside equals the boat’s total weight.
When I reviewed the GR III, I wrote about how much I liked snap focus mode, which allows you to set a predetermined focus distance regardless of the aperture. I set up my GR III to use autofocus when I half-pressed the shutter and snap when I quickly pressed, so that snap focus fired off the shot at my predetermined focus distance (usually 1.5 meters).
All that remains, but there is also now a dedicated letter, Sn, on the mode dial that sets the camera in Snap Focus mode, which allows you to dial in not only the distance you want focus at, but also the aperture you want to lock in. You can control the depth of field as well. I rather enjoyed this new mode and found myself shooting with it quite a bit.
Should You Get One?
The GR IV debuted at $1,497, which is significantly more than the GR III’s $999 price at launch. Is it worth the extra money? If you have a GR III and are frustrated by the autofocus, I think you will like the upgrade. It’s significant and, if you have the money, well worth it.
If you have any desire to use your pocket camera for video, this is not the one for you. See our guides to pocket cameras and the best travel cameras for some better, hybrid photo- and video-capable cameras. If you want an APS-C sensor that legitimately fits in your pocket, offers amazing one-handed control, and produces excellent images, the the Ricoh GR IV is for you.
Personally, I am holding out for the GR IVx, which will hopefully, like the GR IIIx, be the same camera with a 40mm-equivalent lens. At the time of writing, Ricoh would not comment on whether there will be a GR IVx.
Screenshots: Julia Forbes
I spoke with Raj Mills, Sleep Number’s senior vice President of partnerships and research. She tells me, “Our AI models take into account foam depth and still maintain the same level of accuracy regardless of how far below the surface of the bed the sensors are.” She shares that they are cohesively performing a ballistocardiograph, which monitors the blood flow generated by the heart and ultimately determines your heart rate score. How effectively they can do so is debatable.
Ultimately, I found there was quite a bit of variance in terms of the nightly score calculated on both ends. On good nights, both pointed to higher scores, but the final number could differ by up to 10 points. On the Sleep Number app, I found it concerning that most of the time, my Sleep Score numbers were not as high as I thought they would be—my average for the three-week test period was a 74.
Matrix Mattress
If you prefer a remote, that’s either a separate cost ($50) or potentially a different bed altogether. The only way to operate this mattress is by creating an account and downloading the app in advance. Security of one’s personal data is top of mind for many, and I wanted to know how the vast quantities of data accumulated by Sleep Number’s customer base were managed. When you first sign up for your account, you can either share your data with Sleep Number or opt out altogether. For those who share their data willingly—about 550,000 individuals, according to Mills—Sleep Number’s data science team performs research and presents findings from its consumer base at major sleep conferences, including SLEEP and World Sleep Congress.
It’s a comprehensive data set to work with, and it continues to evolve through the adaptive AI at play, which includes SleepIQ technology. According to Mills, the company’s AI models are structured to analyze sleepers at an individual level, because every sleeper has a different build, age, pain issues, and various needs. According to Sleep Number’s privacy policy, the company doesn’t sell your information to third parties, and you can withdraw your consent to share information at any time. At the end of the day, Sleep Number is a business that can potentially use your data to develop new products, and it’s up to you whether that’s worth it or not.
Power Couple
An adjustable base is what enables each side of the mattress to independently adjust head and foot angles. I tested the FlexFit 3 adjustable base alongside the P6 mattress, which is Sleep Number’s top-of-the-line offering. It offers timed foot warming (which takes about two minutes to heat up and has a two-hour default setting) to help blood flow away from your core and aid faster sleep. There is also a zero-gravity setting, partner snore (elevates the head and neck slightly to help open up airways), and motion-detect underbed lighting. I loved the gentle light source for late-night bathroom breaks, and the split king adjustability allowed me to partake in late-night reading without disturbing my partner. However, the only feature that separates the FlexFit 2 base from the FlexFit 3 is the inclusion of foot warming, and it’s a $400 upcharge for a queen size.
Photograph: Julia Forbes
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