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.”
Constance Taube assumed her duties as Deputy Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center on 16 August, after joining ODNI in May 2016 as Interim Deputy ADNI for Partnership Engagement. Ms. Taube has spent 17 years working at U.S. Missions in Asia, including U.S. Embassies in China and Japan; the American Institute in Taiwan (which is the Embassy-equivalent); and the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, both before and after the territory's transition to Chinese rule. Since her return to the Washington, DC area in 2009, Ms. Taube has continued her focus on China, East Asia and counterintelligence issues, most recently in her current capacity. Prior to her government career, which began in the mid-1980's, she worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.
Ms. Taube speaks Mandarin Chinese and French. She holds a Master's Degree in China Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and an undergraduate degree from Columbia University's Barnard College.
She and her husband, Kenneth Grant, live in McLean, Virginia.