Cyber Security

The encryption fight is overblown

Governments are not wired — physically or intellectually — to embrace technology. In 1922, the Michigan Supreme Court warned that cars would offer criminals and anarchists a “means of silent approach and swift escape unknown in the history of the world before their advent.” They urged a national debate: “The question of their police control and reasonable search . . . is a serious question.”

Security Clearance: A Next-Gen Overhaul

When hackers made off with sensitive data from the Office of Personnel Management, they put new stress on a creaky approach to security clearances. Too often, the federal system freezes out individuals with critical language skills, cultural acumen, and strong ties to sensitive regions; at the same time, it failed to counter the insider threat posed by leakers like Edward Snowden.

Directions:

Directions to the Wilson Center

Cybersecurity treaties may be nice, but it’s really every country for itself

The United States and China are attempting to negotiate what would be the first cyber arms-control agreement to ban peacetime attacks on critical infrastructure. The talks reflect the commitment that Washington and Beijing made at the conclusion of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent U.S. visit to “identify and promote appropriate norms of state behavior in cyberspace.” The first ministerial-level meeting on cybersecurity is due to take place before the end of this year.

Arms Control in Cyberspace?

U.S. policymakers have compared the challenge of managing threats in the cyber domain to that of controlling nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The United States and China are currently negotiating what would be the first cyber arms control agreement to ban attacks on each other’s critical infrastructure in peacetime. The Obama administration believes such an agreement could lead to a broader “international framework” of norms, treaties, and institutions to govern cyberspace.

The shocking mediocrity of Islamic State 'hacker' Junaid Hussain

Hiring tech talent is hard. Drawing talent to a warzone shadowed by drones is harder.

On Aug. 25, a US airstrike killed Junaid Hussain, a British national considered the Islamic State’s most capable hacker – though that may not have been a high bar to clear.

While The Wall Street Journal reported that jihadists called him their "secret weapon," J.M. Berger, author of "ISIS: The State of Terror," described him as "a Twitter noisemaker and a hack hacker." Many online labeled him a script kiddie – more plagiarist than innovator – and they probably got him right.

CIA Director’s Email Hacked

Following reports that CIA Director John Brennan’s email had been hacked, we asked Meg King to explain the implications.

Advice for Congress, the weakest link in cybersecurity

The fight between law enforcement and Silicon Valley over encrypted communications – what many called the second coming of the cryptowars – is mostly over. The feds "lost." Encryption advocates have the political and technical edge. Now that the rhetoric can cool, policymakers might realize they were playing a positive-sum game all along.

The Xi-Obama Meeting: Outcomes and Expectations

The meeting between President Xi and President Obama has come and gone leaving in its wake opinions on outcomes and expectations. Kissinger Institute Director Robert Daly helps us sort through the details and also provides thoughts on how China views the TPP agreement. That’s the focus of this edition of Wilson Center NOW.

Guest

Briefing with Admiral Michael Rogers, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command

“Digital security was just emerging as an issue when I was first elected to Congress,” said Wilson Center Director, President and CEO Jane Harman. “Today, it’s a priority nationwide — for government, for private enterprise, and for all of us here at the Wilson Center.” In that spirit, Admiral Mike Rogers, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, came to the Center to lay out his vision for the nation’s warfighting arm in cyberspace.

America is losing the digital war against the Islamic State

Two weeks ago in Boston, authorities stopped a disturbed young man before he could launch a terror attack; tragically, last week in Chattanooga, the story ended very differently. Law enforcement officials are scrambling to learn whether clues were missed that could have prevented the rampage and led to the alleged shooter, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez. But in too many cases, the breadcrumb trail starts with suspicious ones and zeros — with digital propaganda that we still struggle to counter.