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.”
Cynthia Kaiser is a Section Chief with FBI Cyber Division. She has covered cyber, technology, and counterintelligence issues for over 16 years for the FBI and has led FBI cyber threat analysis since 2017. In this role, she serves as an FBI lead for cyber threats to elections, meets regularly with the private sector and state and local government officials, promotes information sharing across all levels of government, and collaborates with partners to help place the FBI in the best position possible to impose risks and consequences on malicious cyber actors. Cynthia holds a Master’s degree in security policy focused on science and technology, and an Executive Master’s degree in leadership.
Lauren Zabierek (Moderator) is the Executive Director of the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. She comes to this role as a 2019 graduate of the Kennedy School's mid-career MPA program. Her work focuses on strategic, national security issues in cyber and tech--ranging from international conflict, cooperation, and norms to domestic collaboration, diversity, privacy, and supply chain issues. Lauren is the co-founder of the online social media movement called #ShareTheMicInCyber. Lauren served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force at the beginning of her career. Later, as a civilian intelligence analyst with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) assigned to the Office of Counterterrorism, she completed three war zone deployments. After leaving NGA, she joined the cybersecurity threat intelligence startup Recorded Future. She also co-founded the Recorded Future Women's Mentorship Initiative, helped to start a women's initiative at NGA, and is a member of the NatSecGirlSquad. Lauren is also a Visiting Fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute and a Nonresident Fellow at New America.