Cyber.RAR

Latest Episodes:

Expert Interview: Defense Innovation? Walk Before You Run Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

Eric Rosenbach, Co-Director of the Belfer Center and Former Chief of Staff of the Pentagon, joins Cyber.RAR to talk about the major roadblocks facing innovation within the Department of Defense. Eric, Bethan, and Sophie dive into the challenges facing talent management in national security, overcoming the DoD's aversion to innovative risk-taking, and why the DoD still doesn't have central cloud computing.

Eric Rosenbach Bio: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/eric-rosenbach

https://www.dds.mil/about

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2327021/diu-making-transformative-impact-five-years-in/

Defense Innovation? Walk Before You Run Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

Bethan and Sophie explore why it's so hard to get innovative digital technologies into the Defese Department. The discussion starts with JEDI (and no, not from Star Wars) and covers the challenges facing the defense innovation ecosystem and how a new aqusitions playbook is needed for software and cyber capabilities. Grace shares their experience working with technology as an Army Signal Officer and Winnona asks some tough questions about the DoD procurement and contracting process. Get ready for a few Star Wars puns!

https://aida.mitre.org/dod-innovation-ecosystem/

https://www.diu.mil/about https://innovation.defense.gov/

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/19/pentagon-announces-new-cloud-initiative-to-replace-ill-fated-jedi-contract/

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2022/1/26/silicon-valley-takes-on-the-valley-of-death

https://www.fedscoop.com/list/7-cloud-programs-leading-the-way-in-government/

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/dces/pdf/GeneralCESFAQs.pdf https://aida.mitre.org/ota/

Expert Interviews: Hacktivism Jun 29, 2022

Show notes

Grace continues the conversation on so-called hacktivism and the future landscape of cyber activism with Bruce Schneier, author of the book 'Data and Goliath,' and fellow and lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School.

Bruce Schneier website and bio: https://www.schneier.com/

The Chaos of Political Hacking Jun 29, 2022

Show notes

Grace asks the question: Political Hacktivism (Hacking + Activism), chaotic good or chaotic evil? What even counts as activism versus terrorism in cyberspace? Is it simply ideological or is it normative? And looking forward, what does the second rise of hacktivism mean for the global order?

Expert Interviews: Cyber Mercenaries Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Winnona continues her exploration of cyber mercenaries by interviewing three experts: Sophia D'Antoine & Dave Aitel, two professionals in the offensive security industry, and Sean McFate - an expert on private military contractors.

Cyber policy papers: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pnISykZe1nn1wwWBJRiaxYaqDoj4ADeBtsoUL41Hw2Y/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=116612216017356103570

The Modern Mercenary: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Mercenary-Private-Armies-World/dp/0199360103

A Tangled Web: Cyber Mercenaries Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Winnona asks: how does one regulate an industry that operates so far in the shadows? This is a major problem in the hack for hire industry, and something we’re going to try and tackle on our podcast episode today on Cyber.RAR. We will be looking at what it looks like to be selling hacking capabilities to governments, what the nuances within the space are, and what concerning trade-offs we’re making that governments may not understand but industry does.

Show Notes: NSO: https://www.zdnet.com/article/commerce-dept-sanctions-nso-group-positive-technologies-and-more-for-selling-spyware-and-hacking-tools/

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/11/apple-sues-nso-group-to-curb-the-abuse-of-state-sponsored-spyware/

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/21/22848485/pegasus-spyware-jamal-khashoggi-murder-nso-hanan-elatr-new-analysis

https://citizenlab.ca/2016/08/million-dollar-dissident-iphone-zero-day-nso-group-uae/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/08/nso-israeli-spyware-company-whatsapp-lawsuit-ruling

https://www.wired.com/story/nso-group-forcedentry-pegasus-spyware-analysis/

https://citizenlab.ca/2018/11/mexican-journalists-investigating-cartels-targeted-nso-spyware-following-assassination-colleague/

Offensive Cyber Capabilities https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/a-primer-on-the-proliferation-of-offensive-cyber-capabilities/ Coseinc: https://risky.biz/RB310/

Rose/Bud/Thorn: Cyberwar in Ukraine Jun 15, 2022

Show notes

Dani asks: how does cyber fit into modern warfare strategies? How have cyber strategies evolved in the last two decades, what can we learn from the uses of cyber capabilities in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and how should the U.S. evolve its cyberwarfare strategy going forward? We will be exploring myths of cyberwarfare strategy - like the escalation of cyber offense into kinetic warfare - and examining where and why cyberwarfare has been effective or ineffective.

History of Russian Cyber Strategy: https://www.boozallen.com/c/insight/publication/the-logic-behind-russian-military-cyber-operations.html

Expert Interviews: Cyberwar Jun 15, 2022

Show notes

Dani explores the cyber escalation fallacy and the evolution of cyberwarfare strategies with Erica Lonergan, Assistant Professor in the Army Cyber Institute, Research Scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and former Senior Director on the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

Cyber Escalation Fallacy: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/2022-04-15/cyber-escalation-fallacy

History of Russian Cyber Strategy: https://www.boozallen.com/c/insight/publication/the-logic-behind-russian-military-cyber-operations.html

Welcome to Cyber.RAR! Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

Meet Michaela, Grace, Winnona, Bethan, Sophie, and Danielle and hear why they came together to record a limited podcast series on cyber policy issues. They dive into some nuances and laugh with each other throughout the process. Hope you enjoy!

Harvard Reading and Research Credits https://www.hks.harvard.edu/educational-programs/courses/course-registration

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