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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

The 5×5

Aug 25, 2021

The 5×5—Cyber capacity and conflict in Africa

By Simon Handler

We brought together a panel of contributors with various perspectives on the region to break down the state of cybersecurity in Africa and explore where investments in cyber capacity could go the furthest.

Africa Cybersecurity

The 5×5

Jul 22, 2021

The 5×5—If it blinks, it sinks: Adventures in securing operational technology

By Will Loomis, Simon Handler

With rising sophistication, automation, and interconnectivity in operational technologies, security has become an overwhelming need.

Cybersecurity Geopolitics & Energy Security

The 5×5

Jun 15, 2021

The 5×5—The state of cybersecurity in the Middle East

By Simon Handler

How will recent developments in the Middle East affect cybersecurity cooperation, and what does the future of the region’s cyber landscape look like?

Cybersecurity Iran

The 5×5

May 13, 2021

The 5×5—How retaliation shapes cyber conflict

By Safa Shahwan Edwards, Simon Handler

Imposing costs—or retaliation—in the physical domain has been studied, but what does retaliation look like in cyberspace and how is it different than retaliation in the physical domain?

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2021

The 5×5—Questioning basic assumptions in the cyber domain

By Simon Handler, Emma Schroeder

Challenging assumptions in cyberspace also means challenging assumptions about the theorists and strategists themselves. International Women’s Day, coming up on March 8, serves as a reminder to include female voices as a means of enriching policy discussions, producing more insightful work, and driving impact.

Cybersecurity Internet

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2021

The 5×5—Looking ahead for the Biden administration after a busy year in cybersecurity

By Simon Handler

It’s been a wild twelve months in the world of cybersecurity since the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative launched the 5×5 series. In celebration of the series’ one-year anniversary, experts plotted the year ahead.

Cybersecurity Technology & Innovation

New Atlanticist

Dec 22, 2020

The 5×5—A cyber wish list at a ‘moment of reckoning’

By Simon Handler

The recent SUNBURST compromise of numerous government and private sector company networks has led some, including Microsoft President Brad Smith, to dub the incident a “moment of reckoning.” Here’s what our experts are wishing for this holiday season.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2020

The 5×5—Trick or threat? The ghouls and goblins behind this year’s cyber incidents

By Simon Handler

This year has witnessed its fair share of unnerving cyber incidents from a range of spooky characters. But 2020 is not over yet. What further ghouls and goblins might lurk? Cyber Statecraft Initiative experts go 5×5 to discuss spine-chilling cyber incidents this Halloween.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2020

The 5×5—Cybersecurity and the 117th Congress

By Simon Handler

Approximately eighty congressional committees and subcommittees claim jurisdiction over at least some dimension of cybersecurity policy. As the agenda for the coming years is only getting more crowded, Congress must improve its agility in order to pass meaningful cybersecurity legislation effectively.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

Elections 2020

Sep 24, 2020

Five big questions as America votes: Cybersecurity

By Cyber Statecraft Initiative

With the next US presidential election looming, the next administration will face no shortage of substantive cyber policy issues. US adversaries such as China and Russia continue to undermine and fracture the free and open internet, while the technology ecosystem has been altered by the rapid adoption of cloud computing, placing immense power and responsibility in the hands of few technology giants, such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Cybersecurity Elections
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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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