Insights Intelligence

How can the U.S. ensure the security of its elections and protect democracy? The Chertoff Group's Adam Isles discusses vulnerabilities in election security and strategies to guard against attacks with Philip Reitinger, president and CEO of the Global Cyber Alliance. Reitinger talks about some basic steps to cut your cyber risk and cautions that the Internet of Things will present new challenges that we've yet to grasp.

Attacks on the U.S. election system and those around the world are designed to sow doubt and undermine confidence, creating challenges for democracies around the world. Adam Isles and Michael Chertoff discuss how we protect the integrity of elections – from campaigns, voters, and the voting system itself. It requires a public-private partnership, and individual citizens have a role to play. Chertoff cautions that we must use our imagination to prepare for the attacks we haven't seen. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of computer systems and algorithms to simulate human responses and then learn and adapt. It holds great potential to bring innovation across a number of sectors.  But it also raises a host of moral, legal and ethical questions. The Chertoff Group's Paul Rosenzweig discusses the challenges and dilemmas this technology creates. How far are we willing to go in putting our faith in AI, and can we design it in a way that aligns with our values?

Software has traditionally been a black box when it comes to knowing what's inside. 

Allan Friedman, director of Cybersecurity Initiatives at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, discusses the Software Component Transparency initiative and efforts to establish a software bill of materials. It's akin to a list of ingredients associated with a particular piece of software to help stakeholders make better risk-management decisions. What will make this a reality?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an incredibly powerful tool to help us make predictions, offering the promise of huge advances across all economic sectors and the government. But how do we define AI, what are its benefits, and how can it be applied in a way that's consistent with our values?

Carol Kuntz, a senior advisor with the Chertoff Group, discusses where AI is used today and some thoughts on how we govern its use in the future. She argues that the technology is at a place where public policy choices need to be made about its use.

The electric grid is often described as a lifeline sector for the nation's critical infrastructure. But most of this sector is privately owned. How can the government and private sector work together to protect the nation's critical infrastructure?

The Chertoff Group's Scott Gibson and Christian Healion discuss the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and how it can function as the public-private sector hub for understanding risk and helping the electric power industry achieve the twin goals of reliability and resiliency.

Encryption is a foundational security tool. But in a time of more outbreaks of violence, the temptation is great to build a backdoor into the encryption process and foil plots before they can be carried out. Chertoff Group Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Chertoff argues that we shouldn't weaken encryption for an understandable – yet narrow – law enforcement use. He discusses the techniques that law enforcement can use to make sense of data without undermining encryption and predicts that quantum computing will be the next big tool for cracking encryption.

Under a new Executive Order, the security clearance process will now be conducted through the Department of Defense. It's an important step forward in reforming the outmoded and cumbersome security clearance process. But it's not a panacea say Chertoff Group Principal Charles Allen, Chuck Alsup, President of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), and Adam Lurie, a member of INSA's advisory board. They argue that we must redefine what a clear and trusted worker is through a process of continuous evaluation and vetting. And we need to use technology to conduct security clearances in a way that's much more effective and efficient than it's done today.

Cyber threats now rank as the number one threat against U.S. government and business interests. What can the government do to protect businesses against an onslaught of attacks? The Chertoff Group's Adam Isles and Matthew Eggers of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce discuss the Cyber SAFETY Act – proposed legislation that would modernize an early law put into place after 9/11 to encourage the use of anti-terrorism technology. The legislation, among other things, incentivizes companies to take their product through the Department of Homeland Security's SAFETY Act vetting process.

A changing business environment has meant that many companies outsource services and have multiple supply chains, introducing new risks from the outside. The Chertoff Group's Chris Duvall talks about ways to manage third-party risk, the questions companies should be asking, and the looming threat of software subversion. He advises organizations to have a robust third-party program as part of any holistic risk-management strategy.