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
Sir Peter Westmacott, former British Ambassador to the United States, is a former senior fellow with Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and resident fellow with the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
Westmacott served as British Ambassador to the United States from January 2012 to January 2016. Prior to his position as Ambassador to the United States, Westmacott served as Ambassador to France from 2007-2012, and Ambassador to Turkey from 2002-2006. Westmacott’s 40 year career in the British Diplomatic Service has also included four years in Iran (before the Revolution) and an interim deployment to the European Commission in Brussels. Previously, he was the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director for the Americas from 1997-2000 before taking a seat on the board as Deputy Under Secretary. From 1990-1993, he was Deputy Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
Last Updated: Jan 6, 2017, 12:57pm