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The 5×5 series by the Cyber Statecraft Initiative features five experts answering five questions on a common theme, trend, or current event in the world of cyber.

Editions

Blog Post

Sep 15, 2022

Policy hackers take Vegas

By Will Loomis, Safa Shahwan Edwards, Trey Herr, Stewart Scott, and Sarah Powazek

Every year, in the early August heat, thousands of hackers from around the world head to Las Vegas, Nevada for a series of cybersecurity conferences known as Hacker Summer Camp. This year, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative – and a few friends – decided to ship out to see what all the hype is about.

Cybersecurity

The 5×5

Aug 15, 2022

The 5×5—The US-Japan-South Korea trilateral cybersecurity relationship

By Simon Handler

Five experts share their insights on the future of US-Japan-South Korea trilateral cybersecurity cooperation.

Cybersecurity East Asia

The 5×5

Jun 29, 2022

The 5×5—Cybercrime and national security

By Simon Handler, Liv Rowley

Five experts weigh in on emerging trends in cybercrime and their impacts on national security. 

Cybersecurity Intelligence

The 5×5

May 12, 2022

The 5×5—Reflections on trusting trust: Securing software supply chains

By Simon Handler

Five experts discuss the implications of insecure software supply chains and realistic paths to securing them. 

Cybersecurity Defense Technologies

Conflict, Risk, and Tech

Apr 29, 2022

The 5×5—Addressing the global market for offensive cyber capabilities

By Simon Handler

Five experts unpack the global market for offensive cyber capabilities and the implications associated with the proliferation of hacking tools.

Conflict Cybersecurity

The 5×5

Mar 21, 2022

The 5×5—Russia’s cyber statecraft

By Simon Handler

Five experts share their perspectives on what recent cyber developments related to Russia’s war in Ukraine indicate about Russian cyber behavior.

Belarus Conflict

The 5×5

Feb 28, 2022

The 5×5—What’s in a cyber strategy?

By Simon Handler

What’s in a cyber strategy, how should one be created, how can observers gauge its effectiveness, and how might such a strategy be reflected in real-world conflicts?

Conflict Cybersecurity

The 5×5

Dec 21, 2021

The 5×5—Hindsight 2021: Cybersecurity is hard

By Simon Handler

We brought together a group of distinguished experts to unpack the year that was and provide an outlook on the cyber policy challenges that lie ahead.

Conflict Cybersecurity

The 5×5

Dec 9, 2021

The 5×5—The state of cybersecurity in Latin America

By Simon Handler

Experts provide insights into the current state of cybersecurity in Latin America, how capacity and cooperation could be improved, and what the future holds for the region.

Caribbean Conflict

The 5×5

Sep 29, 2021

The 5×5—The future of cyber diplomacy

By Simon Handler

We brought together experts with a range of perspectives to discuss cyber diplomacy and what the future of responsible cyber statecraft looks like.

Civil Society Conflict
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The Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, part of the Atlantic Council Technology Programs, works at the nexus of geopolitics and cybersecurity to craft strategies to help shape the conduct of statecraft and to better inform and secure users of technology.

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Content

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

The 5×5—Fighting COVID-19 with surveillance: Perspectives from across the globe

By Simon Handler and Lily Liu

As more countries rely on digital tools to contain the spread of COVID-19, how will enhanced surveillance challenge privacy norms in the future? According to the World Health Organization, public health surveillance is critical to containing the pandemic. However, can enhanced surveillance during a public health crisis set precedents for digital surveillance in the future?

Africa Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jun 22, 2020

The 5×5—Baseball and cybersecurity: Stealing insights from America’s pastime

By Simon Handler

Whether you have played, watched, hated, or never heard of baseball, lessons from the sport can be applied to many things in life—including cybersecurity. Cyber Statecraft Initiative experts go 5×5 to draw parallels between America’s pastime and today’s cybersecurity issues.

Cybersecurity Technology & Innovation

New Atlanticist

May 26, 2020

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?

Cybersecurity

New Atlanticist

Apr 21, 2020

The 5×5—On viral infections online and in the real world

By Simon Handler

Cybersecurity often gets reduced to breaches and hacking, but the world has witnessed multiple pandemics in cyberspace and could learn more about response to exponential events.

Coronavirus Cybersecurity

New Atlanticist

Mar 24, 2020

The 5×5—Minding the cyber talent gap

By Simon Handler

Defending against threats in cyberspace is hard enough, but severe cybersecurity talent deficiencies have consistently made the challenge harder for both public and private sector organizations. Our Cyber Statecraft Initiative experts go 5×5 to dig into the people problem of cybersecurity, its implications, and possible solutions.

Cybersecurity

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2020

The 5×5—The evolution of the internet and geopolitics

By Simon Handler

The internet has been a pivotal force behind the growth of the global digital economy and altered the relationship among states, their citizens, and the private sector. These changes have disrupted the geopolitical balance of power and ushered in a new generation of globally-powerful multinational companies. However, new dynamics of conflict are threatening the internet as we know it.

Cybersecurity Internet

New Atlanticist

Jan 28, 2020

The 5×5—The 2010s: A cyber decade in review

By Simon Handler

The past ten years have, among other things, witnessed the most-costly cyberattack on record, the discovery of a computer worm capable of wreaking physical destruction, and USCYBERCOM’s elevation to unified combatant command status. As we turn the page to 2020, we’re looking back to recap the most significant, overblown, and emergent cyber incidents of the decade.

Cybersecurity