Vol. 4, Issue 45
Free of Charge
Internet and phone voting
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Take it or leave it
Could next year’s
municipal election be vulnerable to vote tampering?
W
TROY SHANTZ THE JOURNAL
ith Sarnia committed to a paperless ballot in the next municipal election residents have been asking whether the new electronic voting system could ever be compromised. The short answer is yes, experts say. But it’s highly unlikely. A local IT expert experienced in information security said breaking into the system Sarnia has commissioned would take a lot of time and planning. And it’s unlikely anyone locally would have the combination of motivation and skill to pull it off, said the expert, who requested anonymity. “But there is no 100% safe security. If it’s manmade it can be broken,” he said. “Security is a series of speed bumps. At the end of the day they may deter somebody from using that road, but someone that’s determined will always get past the speed bumps.” Sarnia has hired Nova Scotia-based Intelivote Systems Inc. to oversee its first Internet and telephone voting election next fall. The company is preparing to handle 93 Ontario elections in 2018. But even Intelivote’s president and founder admits no system is completely impenetrable. “I can’t guarantee that (malicious hackers) can never get into the system, but to be able to modify information in our system requires more than just getting in,” Dean Smith told The Journal. Continued on page 2
ALTHOUGH IT STARTED a bit later than usual, Sarnia’s annual battle with leaves has now been joined in earnest. Here, Wayne Pegg and two other groundskeepers blow leaves into piles for collection at the Sarnia Golf & Curling Club. A crew of five will be busy until the end of November cleaning up the 80-acre property while keeping the greens leaf-free and open for play, weather permitting. GLENN OGILVIE, The Journal
Sarnia home to 1,000 international students
A
TROY SHANTZ THE JOURNAL
ndres Bustamante is not longer afraid to go outside at night. The International student at Lambton College said wandering around Sarnia after dark is not like venturing into the treacherous streets of his home in Caracas, Venezuela, a city of 4.5 million.
“Barely anyone goes out on the street after 6:30 (p.m.) because you will get mugged, you will get killed, you will get kidnapped,” said Bustamante, who is studying information technology. The 28-year-old who arrived last year and is the midst of a co-op placement said he has been made to feel welcome. “That feeling, that you can actually feel secure,” he said. Sarnia’s reputation as a
safe city is a major draw for students from abroad, along with relatively low tuition and living costs, the college says. Enrolment has more than doubled in just three years, with 974 international students studying at Lambton this fall. “It’s changing the face of Sarnia,” said Cindy Buchanan, the college’s marketing and communications director. It’s also a two-way street, she
added, with Canadian students enjoying the chance to experience different cultures without leaving home. So what’s it like for the new arrivals? “When they hear my accent they ask, ‘Where are you from?’” said Bustamante. “That actually feels like people want to know more about the people that come here to Sarnia.” Continued on page 4
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