Science & Technology

In August 2018, the nonpartisan Aspen Strategy Group (ASG) convened its thirtyfourth annual meeting in Aspen, Colorado. Over the course of three days, ASG members and invited experts from government, universities, think tanks, and the private sector debated the impact of dramatic technological change over the next decade on American national security. Our conversations covered a wide breadth of emerging technologies—artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, and biotechnology—and the challenges they pose to America’s military, the intelligence community, U.S. economic power, and democratic institutions. Our group grappled with the central dilemma of how the U.S. government can harness these technologies—developed primarily in the private sector and research labs—to compete with China and other adversaries in the years ahead.

Although cyber weapons can usually be employed in a far less lethal manner than guided missiles shot from a drone, they have been deployed less frequently and under rules of engagement that are far less clear, at least to the public.

In this book, Cyber Security Project Fellow Dr. Ben Buchanan shows not only that the security dilemma applies to cyber operations, but also that the particular characteristics of the digital domain mean that the effects are deeply pronounced. The cybersecurity dilemma is both a vital concern of modern statecraft and a means of accessibly understanding the essential components of cyber operations.

In this volume, academics, practitioners from both private sector and government, along with former service members come together to highlight sixteen of the most pressing contemporary challenges in cybersecurity, and to offer recommendations for the future.

The author critically examines the creation and implementation of new security standards within the postal network after the 2001 anthrax attack. Drawing on research conducted at the Smithsonian Institution and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the article traces the politics inscribed within the architecture of new security technologies. The article sets debates about postal security within a broader account of political economy. The article emphasizes the possibilities and limitations of disasters to create moments of disruption and undergird new political interventions.

"...More recently, the MOOC promise has come under scrutiny as early evidence of its impact started to emerge. The rate of completion of MOOC-based courses was surprising low and their pedagogic contributions became uncertain. The evaluations, however, have failed to distinguish between the dynamics of early euphoric adopters and long-trends in technological innovation. There is a possibility that the MOOC revolution will follow the pattern of mobile phone adoption, favoring poor countries with outdated educational infrastructure and technology."

This chapter informs NATO cyber defense policy and presents operators and decision-makers with genuine tools and expert advice for computer network defense, incident detection, and incident response.

The cyber security of vital infrastructure and services has become a major concern for countries worldwide. The members of NATO are no exception, and they share a responsibility to help the global community to strengthen its cyber defenses against malicious cyber activity. This book presents 10 papers and 21 specific findings from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) "Best Practices in Computer Network Defense (CND): Incident Detection and Response", held in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 2013.

The National Cyber Security Framework Manual provides detailed background information and in-depth theoretical frameworks to help the reader understand the various facets of National Cyber Security, according to different levels of public policy formulation.

In this chapter, Melissa Hathaway and Alexander Klimburg introduce three conceptual tools to help focus the strategic context and debate. These are termed the "three dimensions," the "five mandates," and the "five dilemmas" of national cyber security. Each dimension, mandate and dilemma will play a varying role in each nation's attempt to formulate and execute a national cyber security strategy according to their specific conditions.