Suffolk ransomware hack 

As the ransomware hack of Suffolk County’s data systems enters its second month, there are only more questions about what went wrong and who is responsible for the disaster. With few answers yet, today’s editorial focuses instead on sharpening the questions for everyone involved. 

The hack has been especially frustrating for Suffolk voters who in the midst of a feverish election had a difficult time requesting an absentee ballot – with most having to use the New York State website or even trying to find basic information about where to vote. So it’s not at all a surprise that someone used the opportunity to misdirect some traffic to the downed site. Those who used Bing, the Microsoft search engine, to find the official county election site found themselves on Monday being directed to the site of Suffolk County Republicans and a video of its gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin. See an item in our daily newsletter, The Point, for more details below.

Here in the Opinion Department, it’s all election, all the time, as we enter the final week. If you, too, can’t tear yourself away from the latest prediction, give yourself a challenge by doing a special edition crossword titled 2022 Midterm Mania. My toughest clue: Transformer robot that once was a yellow VW, then a yellow Camaro 36. Good Luck.

- Rita Ciolli