National Security Law Today

This week, Elisa tackles hot-button issues in national security law: threats to the SWIFT system, Taiwan's semiconductor industry, and the uncertain future of NATO as we inch our way towards the U.S. presidential election this fall.

References:

NSLT Ep. 217, "Crackdown on Russia's Dirty Money with Brian Egan"

NSLT Ep. 325, "Security Lessons from Sci-Fi Worlds: Total Recall with Sunita Patel (Part 1)"

NSLT Ep. 228, "Ukraine Series: The Power of NATO with Dr. Erwan Lagadec"

Reiff, Nathan. “Swift and Sanctions: How Banking System Impacts International Relations.”Investopedia, Investopedia, 19 July 2022

Baazil, Diederik. “ASML and TSMC Can Disable Chip Machines If China Invades Taiwan.”Bloomberg.Com, 21 May 2024

Masafumi, IIDA. “China’s Chilling Cognitive Warfare Plans.” The Diplomat, The Diplomat, 7 May 2024

NATO Article 5

Like a vast haystack of digital information, bulk data conceals critical needles—sensitive details that, if found and exploited, can pose severe risks to national security. This week, Elisa is joined by Eric Johnson, the Principal Deputy Chief of the Foreign Investment Review Section at the DOJ's National Security Division. Together they discuss the implications of E.O. 14117, the balance between individual privacy and collective security, and how everyday digital activities contribute to the creation of bulk data.

Eric Johnson is the Principal Deputy Chief of the Foreign Investment Review Section in the United States Department of Justice’s National Security Division:

References:

E.O. 14117

E.O. 13873

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)

The General Data Protection Regulation

Schrems I

Schrems II

Mullins, Brody, and Luke Mullins. The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took over Big Government. Simon & Schuster, 2024

The Congressional Research Service website

Sanchi Jayaram, Assistant Director, American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service

Could the personal data of millions of Americans be our country's greatest national security treasure? This week, host Elisa is joined by Brandon Pugh, Policy Director and Resident Senior Fellow for the Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats team at the R Street Institute. Together, they discuss the silent behemoth that is online personal data collection and distribution. What could a foreign adversary do with our bulk data? And how close is Congress to passing a framework to address this growing threat?

Brandon Pugh is Policy Director and Resident Senior Fellow for the R Street Institute’s Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats team

References:

Register to attend our June 28th luncheon program: "The National Security Constitution in the 21st Century: A discussion with Harold Hongju Koh"

R Street Event, June 18th: "Cybersecurity: Tackling the Policy Puzzle"

The AI Summit at Blackhat USA – August 6th 2024

National Cyber Security Strategy, March 2023

Microtargeting Unmasked: Safeguarding Law Enforcement, the Military, and the Nation in the Era of Personalized Threats

The General Data Protection Regulation

The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA)

H.R.8152, American Data Privacy and Protection Act

H.R.7520, Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024

S. 1409, Kids Online Safety Act

Cyber Civil Defense Initiative

On May 29th, the Standing Committee on Law and National Security hosted a luncheon featuring Jonathan Meyer, General Counsel for the DHS. Moderated by committee member Harvey Rishikof, Jonathan shared some of the department's key insights from the 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment, highlighting threats like foreign and domestic terrorism, immigration, cyber attacks, and the leveraging of AI technologies to create and spread disinformation. The following episode features his commentary from the event, as well as questions from the audience.

Jonathan E. Meyer is General Counsel for the DHS

Moderated by Harvey Rishikof, Senior Counselor of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security

References:

C-SPAN: "Homeland Security General Counsel on Agency Priorities". May 29th, 2024

"Homeland Threat Assessment 2024". The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis

H.R. 815, "Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024"

FISA, Section 230

The General Data Protection Regulation

(Part 2 of 2) Continuing our series on the intersection of sci-fi and national security, host Elisa is joined by Sunita Patel, Senior Assistant General Counsel for Product Security at Micron. Together they unpack the 1990's film, Total Recall, exploring themes of memory, identity, and reality. What can sci-fi tales like Total Recall teach us about real "brain-computer" projects like Nuralink? And do we have the right agency to oversee this type of technology, taking all of its benefits and risks into account?

Sunita Patel is the Senior Assistant General Counsel for Product Security at Micron

References:

Ramkumar, Amrith. “The Solar Breakthrough That Could Help the U.S. Compete with China.”The Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2024

Rivkin, David, and Lee Casey. Opinion | Israel, Hamas and the Law of War, 29 May 2024

Verhoeven, Paul. Total Recall. TriStar Pictures, 1990

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, by Philip K. Dick

"Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United States Senate." The Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group

“AI Governance Needs Sociotechnical Expertise.” Data & Society. 15 May 2024

Markoff, John. “Elon Musk’s Neuralink Wants ‘sewing Machine-like’ Robots to Wire Brains to the Internet.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 July 2019

H.R. 4346, Chips and Science Act

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

S. 2103, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

Continuing our series on the intersection of sci-fi and national security, host Elisa is joined by Sunita Patel, Senior Assistant General Counsel for Product Security at Micron. Together they unpack the 1990's film, Total Recall, exploring themes of memory, identity, and reality. What can sci-fi tales like Total Recall teach us about real "brain-computer" projects like Neuralink ? And how could technologies like Neuralink impact society in the future, to include on topics of national security, medical care, cybersecurity policymaking, and privacy?

Sunita Patel is the Senior Assistant General Counsel for Product Security at Micron

References:

Verhoeven, Paul. Total Recall. TriStar Pictures, 1990

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, by Philip K. Dick

"Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United States Senate." The Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group

“AI Governance Needs Sociotechnical Expertise.” Data & Society. 15 May 2024

Markoff, John. “Elon Musk’s Neuralink Wants ‘sewing Machine-like’ Robots to Wire Brains to the Internet.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 July 2019

H.R. 4346, Chips and Science Act

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

S. 2103, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

This week, Elisa dives straight in with a quick national security news update, spotlighting the recent death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, as well as the ICC announcement of war crime charges against both Israel and Hamas leaders in relation to the Oct. 7th attacks and aftermath. Following the news update, Elisa revisits a previously aired discussion with Dimitri Alperovitch, co-founder of Crowdstrike Inc. and a visionary in cybersecurity, on global power dynamics in the cyber realm.

Dmitri Alperovitch is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a non-profit focused on advancing American prosperity and global leadership in the 21st century and beyond:

References:

Alperovitch, Dmitri, and Garrett Graff. World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century. PublicAffairs, 2024

Listen in to Dimitri's podcast, "Geopolitics Decanted" by Silverado

The CHIPS Act of 2022

Alperovitch, Dmitri. “The Case for Cyber-Realism.” Foreign Affairs, 2022

NSLT Ep. 277, "Justice on the World Stage: Inside the ICC with Cora True-Frost (Part 1)

NSLT Ep. 277, "Justice on the World Stage: Inside the ICC with Cora True-Frost (Part 2)

Looking for the latest national security news? This week, Elisa breaks down recent national security related headlines, including Russia's advancement in Ukraine, major U.S. leaps in quantum computing, and a preview of next week's episode covering how your personal data, including DNA data, are quietly being bought and sold.

References:

"Russia intensifies Attacks on Ukraine's Kharkiv Region." Aljazeera. May 13 2024

"Turkey's trade with Russia drops after U.S. pressure." Financial Times. April 30 2024

E.O. 14081: Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy

This week, Elisa is back with Tracy Reynolds and Harvey Rishikof to discuss the second book in Octavia Butler's popular Parable series, Parable of the Talents. Together they discuss its real-world connections, ironic cultural and religious references, and its cautionary connections to today's national security law issues. Elisa opens the episode by running through the latest national security news headlines.

Harvey Rishikof is Senior Counselor of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security

Tracy Reynolds is a Commander in the U.S. Navy, and Co-Chair of the Space Law Interest Group with the American Society of International Law

References:

Now hiring! The ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security is seeking a Program Specialist

Check out the open internships with the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security:

Book: Parable of the Talents, written by Octavia Butler

NSLT Ep. 314, "NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and Understanding Today's Geopolitical Climate with Simon Miles

This week, we continue our series on the intersection of sci-fi and national security, diving into the popular novel and now Netflix series, The Three Body Problem. Host Elisa is joined again by Tracy Reynolds as well as Harvey Rishikof to discuss the book's themes, lessons and cautionary connections to today's national security issues. In addition, Elisa concludes the episode by running through the latest national security news headlines.

Harvey Rishikof is Senior Counselor of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security

Tracy Reynolds is a Commander in the U.S. Navy, and Co-Chair of the Space Law Interest Group with the American Society of International Law

References:

The ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security is now hiring a Program Specialist! Check out the job description here

Check out the open internships with the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security

Book: The Three Body Problem, written by Cixin Liu

Inkster, Nigel. “The XI Files: How China Spies.” The Spectator, 25 Apr. 2024