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

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
Sherman in WIRED: Governments Are Clamping Down On Foreign Tech Investments

In the News Feb 21, 2020

Sherman in WIRED: Governments Are Clamping Down On Foreign Tech Investments

By Atlantic Council

State inspection of foreign investments at home isn’t novel. Probing NGOs and mandating registration of foreign lobbyists are just two decades-old examples. What’s different today is that countries are accelerating and expanding these powers where they already exist, or freshly architecting them altogether. It’s a way for governments to address two things: perceived foreign influence over their domestic technology spheres, and perceived risks of foreign governments using investments and acquisitions to access sensitive data.
Politics & Diplomacy Technology & Innovation
Warring for the soul of the internet: Ten years on

New Atlanticist Jan 27, 2020

Warring for the soul of the internet: Ten years on

By Trey Herr, Justin Sherman

The new reality is one where democracies must play a more assertive role to protect an open, free, fair, and secure internet, utilizing a strategy that recognizes the changes the internet has undergone, the pernicious influence of authoritarian states, and the role companies have in both protecting and fragmenting it. The internet can’t be brought back in time but there is hope, perhaps, that its original core values can be preserved in a new form through determined effort by its users, some companies, and the democratic states where the open web was born.

Cybersecurity Internet

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Tech at the Leading Edge

Sep 29, 2022

The ITU election pitted the United States and Russia against each other for the future of the internet 

By Konstantinos Komaitis and Justin Sherman

Earlier this morning, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) elected American candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the agency's Secretary-General. Even with her election, the future role of the ITU in internet governance remains uncertain, and the organization will face challenges in the future debate over respecting extant internet processes while trying to drive genuine progress—and Beijing and Moscow will certainly not sit on the sidelines.

Cybersecurity United Nations

The 5×5

Sep 28, 2022

The 5×5—The Internet of Things and national security

By Simon Handler

Five experts from various backgrounds assess the national security challenges posed by IoT and discuss potential solutions.

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

Report

Sep 26, 2022

Security in the billions: Toward a multinational strategy to better secure the IoT ecosystem

By Patrick Mitchell, Liv Rowley, and Justin Sherman with Nima Agah, Gabrielle Young, and Tianjiu Zuo

The explosion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and services worldwide has amplified a range of cybersecurity risks to individuals’ data, company networks, critical infrastructure, and the internet ecosystem writ large. In light of this systemic risk, this report offers a multinational strategy to enhance the security of the IoT ecosystem. It provides a framework for a clearer understanding of the IoT security landscape and its needs, looks to reduce fragmentation between policy approaches, and seeks to better situate technical and process guidance into cybersecurity policy.

Cybersecurity Internet of Things
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Justin Sherman is a nonresident fellow with the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, part of the Atlantic Council Tech Programs, where his work focuses on internet geopolitics, governance, and security as well as Russian and Indian technology policy and strategy. He is also the founder and chief executive officer of Global Cyber Strategies, a Washington-based research and advisory firm, and a senior fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, where he leads its data brokerage research project and lectures on cybersecurity, privacy, and technology policy.

He is an advisor to the global Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist & Violent Extremist Content Online, serves as the technology advisor to the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project in New York City, and writes a Slate op-ed column on technology and policy.

Prior to his current positions, he spent time at New America, the National Security Agency’s Laboratory for Analytic Sciences, and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University’s Washington College of Law, among others. He was a fellow at Duke Law School’s Center on Law & Technology and a fellow at Stanford University’s US-Russia Forum, where he participated in track two dialogues with Russian counterparts on international security issues. He co-founded Ethical Tech at Duke University and previously wrote a WIRED column on technology and geopolitics.

Justin has testified before Congress, spoken widely, and briefed White House officials, members of the European Parliament, and many other policymakers around the world on technology, policy, and geopolitics issues. He has written hundreds of articles and numerous reports, book chapters, journal articles, and privately commissioned assessments and appeared on BBC, CNBC, Deutsche Welle, NPR, Showtime, and many other national and international programs. His work has been featured on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

He earned his MA in security studies from Georgetown University and his BS in computer science and his BA in political science from Duke University.