In case we all wake up crying in November of 2008, don't say you weren't warned:

As political candidates increasingly turn to the Internet to more effectively communicate their positions, rally supporters, and seek to sway critics, it is important to understand the associated IT security risks in the election process.

In a paper Symantec released today researchers analyzed Internet-based attack vectors most likely to have an immediate and material effect on the 2008 U.S. presidential election as well as any future election, and how those vectors could affect the election process up to voting day.

Symantec found many potential threats, including abuse of candidates' Web domains and malicious attacks... and I think you'll find this interesting... Link

Scary stuff, it seems.

- Mark Kellner

It's dangerous, I believe, to be too assertive when in a dentist's chair, especially when he's holding sharp instruments. My belief isn't solely, but partly, based on the fact that my late uncle, actor John Garson, had a small role as a bystander in "Marathon Man," a film which likely depressed dental appointments for months after its release.

But I digress.

I was in the dentist's chair on Monday, and we got to talking about technology. I mentioned that, as a new patient (again, why was I being assertive?), I had scanned his office form into a computer and annotated it using Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional, since my handwriting is, well, not very legible. I then said that he could have the form prepared to be filled in with Acrobat Reader (the IRS, oddly enough, are masters of this technique) and that, further, such forms could feed from a Web site into his secure database, freeing up his office staff for more productive (read: profitable) work.

He said he'd heard of dental offices which were "paperless," and perhaps his practice will move in that direction. I stopped pushing at that point, remembering Uncle John, and "Marathon Man."

But I am also reminded of my current internist, who is also beholden to paper. And of Steve Case, the AOL entrepreneur who's trying to do tech-related health stuff in the District, with Revolution Health. And even of WebMD.com, which sells some high end services to doctors.

I don't know if anyone apart from Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich's nascent health care partnership has taken this up, but, hey, Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney: If y'all are listening, digitizing health care, top to bottom, is a reform that could not only save real money in health care — how much is cost in clerical errors? — but also create a ton of jobs in IT at the same time.

Just my opinion, but then again … it might be a winner.

- Mark Kellner