The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Michelle C. Watson – brings 25 plus years experience in international business, information security, telecommunications, cyber intelligence and business risk management, to her present role as the founding President and CEO of Cyber Intelligent Partners (CIP) LLC. CIP is a Washington D.C. based consulting and training firm focusing on: Geopolitical Risks Impacting Businesses, 5G-Economic & National Security Risks, Economic Warfare, Cyber Intelligence & Risk Management, and Insider Threat Program Assessment & Training.
Previously she served as the co-founder and Director of the Cyber Intelligence Initiative at the Institute of World Politics, where she was also Vice-President of Corporate Relations, and co-created, co-taught the Corporate Statecraft and Cyber Statecraft graduate courses.
She began her career in Silicon Valley working for Cable & Wireless plc, then at British Telecom plc (BT), heading up business development in the Hi-tech sector for BT’s Global Solutions Group. As a Vice-President at BT, Michelle was responsible for leading North American and European based business development teams and partnering with AT&T Solutions on joint global managed network service engagements.
Her academic research as a Professor of Practice focused on Cyber Intelligence; Geopolitical Risks to Businesses; 5G: Economic and National Security Risks; NationState Adversaries & Threat Landscape; and the complex relationship between the Public-Private sectors and the impact of those relationships on U.S. Economic and National Security.
Michelle earned a Masters’ Degree in National Security and Statecraft from the Institute of World Politics, studied International Relations at University of Oxford, New College, earned a Certification in Cyber Risk Management from Harvard University, a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and studied Data Communications at Golden Gate University.