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.”
Biography
Akhil Iyer is a joint Masters in Public Policy and Business Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. After receiving his B.A. with honors in International Security Studies from Stanford University, Akhil served as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer and Special Operations Team Commander. Now transitioning off active duty, Akhil’s deployment experiences have sparked his interest in public-private cooperation on national security, including ways to better connect front-line operators with emerging commercial technologies. He is currently pursuing a career at a new venture capital fund focused on supporting early stage companies building frontier technology solutions for both business and national security.
Last Updated: Aug 5, 2022, 10:51am