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.”
Please join the Intelligence Project on Wednesday, February 7th for an interactive discussion with Charlie Gilbert about the ethical challenges faced by both nation-states and individuals in the conduct of espionage and other forms of clandestine intelligence collection and covert action. Mr. Gilbert will draw upon real-world examples of efforts to address these challenges, and maybe some examples of when those efforts have failed.
Charlie Gilbert retired from the Central Intelligence Agency after a 26-year career in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. Spending more than half of his career abroad, Mr. Gilbert served in multiple, senior leadership positions overseas. His Washington assignments included Deputy Director of the National Clandestine Service and as chief of Iranian Operations. He has particular expertise in issues related to the Middle East, Central Asia and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Gilbert’s awards include the CIA Trailblazer Award, the Intelligence Medal of Merit, two Donovan Awards, the Director’s Award, and three Meritorious Unit Citations. Mr. Gilbert is currently Executive Vice President of Gavin de Becker and Associates, a security and consulting firm that protects many of the world's most prominent people.