Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world

Past Event
Seminar

Limiting the Undesired Impact of Cyber Weapons: Susan Landau

Open to the Public

Join the Cybersecurity Project for a lunch talk on "Limiting the Undesired Impact of Cyber Weapons" with Professor Susan Landau, Bridge Professor of Cyber Security and Policy in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the School of Engineering, Department of Computer Science, Tufts University.

There has been much public rhetoric on the widespread devastation of cyber weapons. We show that contrary to the public perception – and statements from some political and military leaders– cyber weapons not only can be targeted, they have been used in just such a manner in recent years. We examine the technical requirements and policy implications of targeted cyberattacks, discussing which variables enable targeting and what level of situation-specific information is required for such attacks. We also consider technical and policy constraints on cyber weapons that would enable them to be targetable.

Lunch will be served on a first come, first served basis.

Date: Time: - Location: Suite 470
Susan Landau

Biography

Susan Landau is Bridge Professor of Cyber Security and Policy in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the School of Engineering, Department of Computer Science, Tufts University. Landau works at the intersection of cybersecurity, national security, law, and policy. Her recent book, "Listening In: Cybersecurity in an Insecure Age," was published by Yale University Press; Landau is also the author of "Surveillance or Security? The Risks Posed by New Wiretapping Technologies," (MIT Press, 2011) and "Privacy on the Line: the Politics of Wiretapping and Encryption," co-authored with Whitfield Diffie (MIT Press, 1998). Landau was an early voice in the argument that law- enforcement requirements for embedding surveillance within communications infrastructures created long- term national-security risks, and has testified before Congress and frequently briefed US and European policymakers on encryption, surveillance, and cybersecurity issues.  Landau has been a Senior Staff Privacy Analyst at Google, a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, and a faculty member at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Wesleyan University. She has served on the National Academies Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (2010-2016), and the National Science Foundation Computer and Information Advisory Board (2010-2013). Landau was a 2008 recipient of the Women of Vision  Social Impact Award, a 2010-2011 fellow at the Radcliffe Institute  for Advanced Study, a 2012 Guggenheim fellow, 2015 inductee to the Cybersecurity Hall of Fame, and a 2018 inductee into the Information System Security Hall of Fame. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Association for Computing Machinery.