Cyber.RAR

On the two year anniversary of the Jan 6 riots at the US Capitol, the Cyber.RAR team explores the ways in which cybersecurity played a role before and after the day's events. On this episode, we explore how open source digital surveillance generated substantial intelligence predicting the day's events; we'll also explore how the collection of digital communications from government officials has helped - or hasn't helped - piece together what occurred on Jan 6. Plus, a Cyber Show and Tell from Chat GPT!

Big Tech, honey, are you doing okay?

Whether we like it or not, large technology platforms and the for-profit institutions that make them are here to stay in our society and economy. Governments are starting to craft often-overlapping regulations to try and fix the problems that come up, but instead of looking at issues one by one, let's look at these organizations as a whole - fundamentally “grow fast and break things” companies who somehow ended up in shouldering a lot of our national security, growing the international economy, and protecting values that underpin our Western society. How well does big tech help or hinder our security, privacy, and social fabric, and how will that change as the economy slows down?

Minister Cina Lawson, Togo's Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation, joins Cyber.RaR for a special episode. In her role leading Togo's digital transformation, Minister Lawson oversaw rapid digital service penetration within Togo, the first deployment of 5G in West Africa, and an innovative mobile cash distribution solution for Covid-19 relief. Minister Lawson discusses the tradeoffs between growing a local cyber talent workforce and hiring experts, how Togo has sustained good security hygiene despite rapid increases in digital service provision and access, and how her team's innovative approach is derived from human-centric principles.

Worried about a nuclear war with Russia? Maybe you SHOULD be worried about beluga whales. Let’s dive in (pun intended) on why. This week on Cyber.RAR, we discuss global infrastructure in the form of undersea cables transmitting data through light traveling along silicon tubes - and how fragile these systems really are. We discuss how to monitor and defend these cable networks given how massive and interconnected they are and how geography and technology factor into strategic decision-making about espionage and cyber-enabled attacks. We conclude the episode with a tribute to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his tremendous impact on the Kennedy School and the nation.

US government agencies, including law enforcement, are purchasing data sets created through private citizens’ use of consumer technology. This practice enables these agencies to access to information that they otherwise would’ve needed a warrant to acquire if they were collecting it themselves. Is this a problem? What are the risks of the widespread proliferation of our personal data among government users? Should data sets created through advertising ecosystems be restricted from government use? The Cyber.RaR team explores these questions and talks about policy options for balancing security and privacy.

AI-enabled security can process data faster and more accurately than humans, but can it tell the difference between turtles and rifles? We answer this question and more as we cover AI-enabled cybersecurity for network defense, insider threat, and user privacy, including considering whether AI ethics are simply business ethics. We also discuss asymmetric uses for nation-states on both offensive and defensive postures and AI-enabled malware and social engineering. Dani concludes with a deep dive into "Fog Reveal" a law enforcement cellphone tracking tool that'll make you squirm.

What do Cryptocurrency and the 90's have in common? Easily exploitable bugs and also Paris Hilton, apparently.

We cover the state of regulation and cybersecurity within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space - covering environmental, democratization, and equity concerns, as well as user vs. system security, code audits and minimum standards. We also have a special guest appearance by crypto strategy expert, Corinna Fehst. Bethan talks about whether you should post your laptop screen on BeReal [spoiler alert, please don't].

Your favorite cyber policy podcast is back for Season 2! New format, same old hosts.

We'll be covering the Chips & Science Act in a discussion that goes through great power competition, hardware nuance, hardware supply chain security, AAPI advocacy, and workforce education. Winnona also talks a little bit about DEFCON policy for her "Cyber Show & Tell".

Michaela dives deeper into the nexus of cyber and vulnerable populations through an interview with Eva Galperin, the Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Listen in on our conversation about stalkerware, privacy, and activism! Listen to the end of the episode to hear what the Cyber.RAR team is up to (plus the prospect of Season 2!?). If you'd like to reach out to us, send an email to [email protected]!

How do we better protect our most vulnerable populations from cyber incidents? Michaela leads the conversation and posits that instead of thinking about it as a domain of war, we should use a climate analogy to think about the increasing vulnerability of our digital ecosystem. This could help us understand the disaggregated impacts on different communities and change the way we think about building resilience. If you'd like to reach out to us, send an email to [email protected]!