Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

The cybersecurity effects of coronavirus

By Derek Bernsen

Since COVID-19 began to spread within the United States in January of this year, the United States has been concentrating its efforts on mitigating the crisis at both a state and federal level. However, all efforts at containing the growing cybersecurity problems have been surface level and reactive at best.

Event recap | Data salon episode 1: Notice, consent, and disclosure in times of crisis

By Stewart Scott

On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and Accenture hosted Dr. Jennifer King, Director of Consumer Privacy at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, and Ms. Jana Gooth, legal policy advisor to MEP Alexandra Geese, for the inaugural episode of the jointly presented Data Salon Series. The event was co-hosted by Mr. Steven Tiell, Senior Principle, Responsible Innovation at Accenture and Dr. David Bray, Inaugural Director, GeoTech Center at the Atlantic Council.

The 5×5—Is it a game or is it real? Simulations and wargaming in cyber

By Simon Handler

Greater insight into risk and response allow public and private sector organizations to better prepare for crisis before it happens and rerun history to stave off defeat in future. Wargames can be complex live events or low-cost simulations. They can even be the basis for major reforms to policy and doctrine, giving us much to understand about them. Shall we play a game?

Expert panel briefs Congressional staffers on Sudan

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, May 26, the Africa Center hosted a closed Sudan briefing for Congressional staffers who are currently at work on several important pieces of Sudan-related legislation. The private briefing featured remarks from Sudanese Minister of Finance H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Elbadawi and Sudanese Minister of Justice H.E. Nasredeen Abdulbari, followed by an expert panel of DC-based Sudan experts.

Coronavirus threatens America’s political health, too

By Harlan Ullman

Coronavirus has exacerbated partisanship and animosity between the two political parties, further widening huge political divides

Going deeper: Central Bank Digital Currencies and how best to design them to benefit everyone

On May 19, 2020 - Lisa Pollina, Gabriel Abed, George Bachiashvili, Shane Glynn, Aditi Kuma shared perspectives on "The digital dollar: Do we need it and how do we build it?" as part of a live video discussion moderated by Michael Greenwald. The discussion focused what exactly is a digital dollar? How would it work, how could it best be designed, and who would manage it?

Carbon capture and the Allam Cycle: The future of electricity or a carbon pipe(line) dream?

By David Yellen

The race to net-zero emissions is an uphill one. Despite the effects of climate change mounting and time running out, global energy demand is set to grow 50 percent by 2050. One solution to decarbonizing the global energy system while also meeting rising natural gas demand is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). However, CCUS has historically been too expensive to be viable, and deployment remains far off track. Enter the Allam Cycle: a novel natural gas power plant design that can theoretically capture 100 percent of emissions while being cost- and efficiency-competitive with advanced natural gas plants.

Event recap | Mobilizing industry to encourage multi-sector solutions to global concerns

By Corina LJ DuBois

On May 21, 2020, Daryl Haegley, Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, Melissa Flagg, Lee McKnight, Mary Collins, Lin Wells, and Divya Chander shared their perspectives in a live video discussion titled "Mobilizing industry to encourage multi-sector solutions to address emergent global concerns" and moderated by David Bray, Director of the Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. The discussion focused on new ways of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and application of multi-sector industry solutions to current and potential future pandemics.

Coronavirus emergency measures should persuade Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey to legitimize energy reform, not reverse it

By Dr. Aura Sabadus

For years, Eastern European governments and Turkey have bought into a global trend, arguing that long-term strategies in the energy sector should revolve around market deregulation. In light of the coronavirus outbreak and the emergency measures implemented worldwide to contain it, the energy industry may now face an increase in interventionist policies such as price controls and consolidation of state-owned enterprises as governments push to mitigate the shockwaves of expected consumer impacts. Such measures would be detrimental to economies, and there are compelling arguments that suggest governments should remain committed to their initial market goals.