Featured commentary and analysis

Timely Commentary & Analysis

Capacity Building Initiative Jan 13, 2020

Cyber 9/12: Education and innovation on a global scale

By Will Loomis

One of the most important barriers to robust global cybersecurity is the shortage of capable individuals in the workforce pipeline. By 2021, predictions suggest that the world will have more than 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs, with both the private and public sectors facing hiring shortages. While the United States has budding international relations, cybersecurity, and IT-focused academic programs, very little has been done to address the interaction between them, which will be crucial for the success of future cybersecurity professionals.
Cybersecurity
Timely Commentary & Analysis

Conflict, Risk, and Tech Oct 28, 2019

The zero-day war? How cyber is reshaping the future of the most combustible conflicts

By Simon Handler

Conventional wisdom would suggest that scaled-up capabilities, growing competition, and the proliferation of malware across cyberspace presents a legitimate risk of escalation in state conflict, transcending the cyber domain toward the kinetic. However, recent history has shown that states have more often availed themselves of their offensive cyber arsenals to achieve surprisingly de-escalatory effects.
Cybersecurity Iran
Timely Commentary & Analysis

New Atlanticist Oct 9, 2019

How governments can use cyber tools irresponsibly to preserve power

By Safa Shahwan

The Kazakh case serves as an example of irresponsible cyber statecraft, when governments use cyberspace and technological tools to achieve specific political goals, placing the rights of citizens, as well as their political legitimacy, on the line.

Central Asia Cybersecurity

All timely commentary & analysis

Cyber 9/12 Project

Mar 27, 2018

2018 US Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

On Saturday, March 17, the Atlantic Council’s sixth annual Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge in Washington, DC, concluded with the Air Force Cyber College’s “Team Fightin’ Electrons” winning first place.

Cybersecurity

Event Recap

Nov 30, 2017

Hacking the Election: Lessons from the DEF CON Voting Village

By Priscilla Kim

On October 10th, the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative and DEF CON hosted a public event on the vulnerabilities in US voting infrastructure and recommendations for a path forward in securing our democracy. Panelists included Ambassador Douglas Lute, former US permanent representative to NATO; Jeff Moss, founder of DEF CON and senior fellow for the […]

Cybersecurity Elections

Event Recap

Nov 7, 2017

Report Launch: Aviation Cybersecurity–Finding Lift, Minimizing Drag

By Safa Shahwan

On November 7, the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative launched its first-ever report on Aviation Cybersecurity—Finding Lift, Minimizing Drag, underwritten by Thales. The event featured a keynote by Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Cybersecurity

Event Recap

Oct 11, 2017

Cyber Risk Wednesday: Building a More Defensible Cyberspace

By Priscilla Kim

On September 28, 2017, the New York Cyber Task Force released a series of recommendations that would help make it easier to defend cyberspace without sacrificing the utility, flexibility, and convenience that has made the Internet so essential to our economies and personal lives. At this Washington, DC launch event, the task force members discussed […]

Cybersecurity

Event Recap

Sep 21, 2017

Cyber Risk Wednesday: Internet of Bodies

By Safa Shahwan

On September 21, 2017, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted a panel discussion on Nonresident Senior Fellow, Andrea Matwyshyn’s current research project: The Internet of Bodies and the game-changing security, legal, and ethical implications of Internet-connected medical implants.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

Event Recap

Aug 2, 2017

Cyber Risk Wednesday: DEF CON to DC

By Ayan Islam

On August 2, 2017, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted a panel discussion on the week-long round of cybersecurity conferences known as “Hacker Summer Camp” – DEF CON, Black Hat, and BSides Las Vegas. Ariel Robinson, Analyst and Reporter for ITSP Magazine and Host of The […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

Video

Jul 17, 2017

Cyberattack in the Gulf
Cybersecurity Middle East

Cyber Risk Wednesdays

Jul 17, 2017

Cyber Risk Monday: The Darkening Web

By Kenneth Miller

Ransomware attacks crippling business operations and threatening human lives around the globe; accusations of Russian interference in Western elections; reported US sabotage of North Korean missiles. No single invention of the last few decades has so fundamentally changed the nature of political conflict as the Internet, which is increasingly used as a weapon by actors eager to exploit or curtail global connectivity in order to further their interests. This Atlantic Council discussion examined the consequences of the battle for cyberspace among nation states and non-state actors alike, threatening not only our personal data but human lives, global stability, and the fundamentals of the Internet as we know it today.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

Video

Jun 27, 2017

Europe’s Latest Cyberattack
Cybersecurity Security & Defense

Cyber 9/12 Project

Jun 2, 2017

WannaCry Ransomware Attack: Dreams Should Not Come True

By Cyber Statecraft Initiative

On May 12, 2017, the world was shaken by a ransomware cyberattack called Wanna Crypt (also known as WannaCry) that spread like a network worm. The attack impacted over 45 National Health System (NHS) organizations across England and Scotland, forcing hospitals to cancel appointments and loose critical patient records, as well as the German S-Bahn.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense
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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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