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
Janet Egan is an experienced public policy professional and people manager, with a background in national security. She is passionate about integrating security, international and economic considerations to develop holistic policy.
With six years in the Australian Government, Janet has worked on policy issues spanning geopolitics, cyber security, emerging technologies, foreign investment, critical infrastructure and regulatory reform. She is currently on leave from the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where she was the inaugural Director of Policy in the Office of Supply Chain Resilience.
Janet is a Master of Public Policy Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Belfer Young Leader, John F. Kennedy Fellow, and Ramsay Postgraduate Scholar. Her current research interests include AI governance and critical technology policy, and approaches to ensure resilient supply chains.