Cybersecurity

In cyberspace, adversaries are growing more sophisticated and outpacing advancements in policy, education, and defense technologies. In an era of great-power competition, it is vital that policy makers and tech experts understand the underlying factors and motivations impacting the field of cybersecurity. With a focus on strategy and foresight, the Atlantic Council shifts attention from singular incidents to better understand larger cyber campaigns.

Recent analysis

Post-Stuxnet: The era of computer-mediated destruction has begun

Report
Jan 29, 2026

The US needs a cybersecurity roadmap

By
Franklin D. Kramer, Robert J. Butler, and Melanie J. Teplinsky

A national cybersecurity strategy will require an operational road map.

Cybersecurity
Security & Defense

Post-Stuxnet: The era of computer-mediated destruction has begun

Report
Sep 30, 2025

404 Accountability not found: Spyware accountability through software liability

By
Sara Ann Brackett, Jen Roberts

This report proposes a legislative safe harbor framework that would incentivize technology companies to engage in spyware accountability.

Cybersecurity
United Kingdom

Post-Stuxnet: The era of computer-mediated destruction has begun

Issue Brief
Sep 10, 2025

Mythical Beasts: Diving into the depths of the global spyware market

By
Sarah Graham, Jen Roberts, and Nitansha Bansal

The second edition of the Mythical Beasts project assess how the global spyware market has developed and changed over the past year.

Cybersecurity

Programs

The Atlantic Council Technology Programs comprises five existing efforts—the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), the GeoTech Center, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, the Democracy + Tech Initiative, and the Capacity Building Initiative. These operations work together to address the geopolitical implications of technology and provide policymakers and global stakeholders necessary research, insights, and convenings to address challenges around global technology and ensure its responsible advancement.

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Content

NATOSource

Jun 12, 2012

Post-Stuxnet: The era of computer-mediated destruction has begun

By R. Scott Kemp, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

From R. Scott Kemp, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:  While digital spying has taken place for decades, the era of computer-mediated destruction has only recently begun.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jun 9, 2012

NATO experts warn that intelligent cyber weapons may get out of control

By AFP

From AFP:  Quick advances in cyber war technologies could soon lead to a new generation of so-called "intelligent cyber weapons" which top global IT defence experts warn could be virtually unstoppable.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jun 8, 2012

Germany reveals offensive cyberwarfare capability

By DPA

From DPA:  German authorities confirmed Tuesday in a parliamentary document that their military possesses a top secret cyberwarfare unit which is already operational

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jun 4, 2012

Stuxnets are Not in the US National Interest: An Arsonist Calling for Better Fire Codes

By Jason Healey, the New Atlanticist

From Jason Healey, the New Atlanticist:  The United States government has apparently struck a blow against the Iranian nuclear enrichment capability by using Stuxnet to disable centrifuges.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jun 1, 2012

Stuxnets are Not in the US National Interest: An Arsonist Calling for Better Fire Codes

By Jason Healey

The United States government has apparently struck a blow against the Iranian nuclear enrichment capability by using Stuxnet to disable centrifuges.   While this cyber weapon destroyed centrifuges and seized up the enrichment process, the cost in American cyber power ultimately will not have been worth these limited gains.

Cybersecurity Iran

Cyber 9/12 Project

Jun 1, 2012

Cyber 9/12 Project: The Role of the Media During a Cyber Crisis

By Jason Harmala

On June 1, the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative hosted “Cyber 9/12 Project: The Role of the Media During a Cyber Crisis.” The event launched an issue brief containing key recommendations stemming from the Cyber 9/12 Project, and continued the discussion with Robert J. Giesler and Tom Gjelten on the role the media plays during […]

Cybersecurity

NATOSource

Jun 1, 2012

Cartwright: “We built the F-35 with absolutely no protection for it from a cyber standpoint”

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., AOL Defense

From Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., AOL Defense:  [Former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James] Cartwright fears the Pentagon’s most expensive program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, might prove to be as vulnerable to enemy hackers as the old under-armored Humvees were to roadside bombs.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jun 1, 2012

Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran

By David E. Sanger, the New York Times

From David E. Sanger, the New York Times:  From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

May 30, 2012

Flame virus “widely considered as a technological leap” in cyber spycraft

By Ali Akbar Dareini and Brian Murphy, the AP

From Ali Akbar Dareini and Brian Murphy, the AP:  Computer technicians battling to contain a complex virus last month resorted to the ultimate firewall measures – cutting off Internet links to Iran’s Oil Ministry, rigs and the hub for nearly all the country’s crude exports.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

May 24, 2012

The Lost Alliance: NATO in Chicago

By Tomas Ries, the New Atlanticist

From Tomas Ries, the New Atlanticist:  A ship is adrift in a foggy sea. The crew are in their bunks, the officers argue about their mortgages, and the captain has left.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense
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Experts

Fellow

Yasmine Abdillahi

Nonresident Fellow

Africa Center

Africa Cybersecurity

Fellow

Michael Allen

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Cybersecurity

Fellow

Victor Atkins

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Crisis Management Cybersecurity

Staff

Nitansha Bansal

Associate Director

Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity

Fellow

Tyson Barker

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

Fellow

Ryan Berger

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

Americas Cybersecurity
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