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.”
It has been 16 years since the 9/11 attack. Many have predicted that terrorists would detonate a dirty bomb by now. Conducted an attack using biological weapons. The sum of all fears - a yield producing nuclear device - seems like a remote possibility. Is it?
Why has there not been a terrorist WMD attack since 9/11? Has the threat been hyped? How does the demise of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, combined with the diminution of al-Qaeda, impact on terrorist WMD intent and ability to acquire capability?
Please join us for the last Intelligence Lunch of the semester where Rolf Mowatt-Larssen will host an open discussion of these and other questions.
Lunch from Flour Bakery will be provided. Harvard IDs checked at the door. First come, first served.