Science & Technology

674 Items

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AP/Jeff Chiu, File

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Reactions to the Leak of Classified Military Intelligence Documents

Belfer Center experts on security, intelligence, and cybersecurity issues were interviewed on the recent leak of classified military intelligence documents allegedly by Airman Jack Teixeira.

Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in this photo, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023.

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

We Don’t Need to Reinvent our Democracy to Save it from AI

| Feb. 09, 2023

When is it time to start worrying about artificial intelligence interfering in our democracy? asks Bruce Schneier. "Maybe when an AI writes a letter to The New York Times opposing the regulation of its own technology. That happened last month. And because the letter was responding to an essay we wrote, we're starting to get worried. And while the technology can be regulated, the real solution lies in recognizing that the problem is human actors—and those we can do something about."

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Announcement - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Lauren Zabierek Named Senior Policy Advisor for U.S. Cybersecurity Agency

| Feb. 01, 2023

Lauren Zabierek, former Executive Director of the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, has been appointed Senior Policy Advisor with the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere talks to the media during his visit to the central department of fighting internet criminality (ZIT) in Giessen, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017. In background a map showing the amount of cyber attacks in a30 days.

AP Photo/Michael Probst

Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Advancing Cyber Norms Unilaterally: How the U.S. Can Meet its Paris Call Commitments

| January 2023

Establishing norms for state behavior in cyberspace is critical to building a more stable, secure, and safe cyberspace. Norms are defined as “a collective expectation for the proper behavior of actors with a given identity,” and declare what behavior is considered appropriate and when lines have been crossed. Cyberspace is in dire need of such collective expectations. However, despite efforts by the international community and individual states to set boundaries and craft agreements, clear and established cyber norms for state behavior remain elusive. As early as 2005, the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) both aimed to create shared “rules of the road,” but fundamental disagreements between states and a lack of accountability and enforcement mechanisms have prevented these initiatives from substantively implementing cyber norms. As a result, the international community and individual states are left with no accountability mechanisms or safeguards to protect civilians and critical infrastructure from bad actors in cyberspace.

A person on the left bends to take pictures of a drone showcased on a platform on the right.

AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz

Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Buying What Works: An Acquisitions Strategy for the Reality of Dual-Use Technologies

| October 2022

In this student research paper, Harvard Kennedy School student Coen Williams finds that  The Department of Defense should implement an “effects-driven” acquisitions system rather than “capabilities-based” to effectively acquire and utilize commercially developed capabilities. An effects-driven acquisitions system will increase the diversity of solutions, and by appropriating money to effects-driven portfolios, Congress can still maintain control of the purse while the Department of Defense can more effectively allocate its appropriated funds.

An abstract image of locks and electronic wires

Adobe Stock

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

National Cyber Power Index 2022

| September 2022

In his Note to Readers of the 2022 National Cyber Power Index, Eric Rosenbach, Belfer Center Co-Director and former Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, writes: “With the challenges in the cyber domain only increasing, it is critical for analytical tools to also be available, presenting the full range of cyber power, and informing critical public debates today. The framework that the NCPI provides is one that allows policymakers to consider a fuller range of challenges and threats from other state actors. The incorporation of both qualitative and quantitative models, with more than 1000 existing sources of data and with 29 indicators to measure a state’s capability, is more comprehensive than any other current measure of cyber power.”

A worker is seen in a tugboat at the Port of Los Angeles on Nov. 10, 2021.

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Never Breaking the Chain: The Economics and Politics of Creating an Effective National Supply Chain Strategy

| August 2022

The creation of a national supply chain strategy is crucial to responding to the challenge and merits specific attention from both policy and business leaders. This paper proposes specific government and business policy steps that would progress the US’s position on a more unified, strategic supply chain approach.

Close-up of two hands placed on the laptop keyboards with reflection on the screen.

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File

Journal Article - Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development

The New Frontier of Democratic Self-Defense

| Winter 2022

The United States nor its allies alone cannot counter adversarial and criminal cyber activity in the digital domain-–the reach, scale, stealth, and danger are simply too great for any one country to bear. As such, calls for international operational collaboration in cybersecurity and emerging technologies are increasing. Former U.S. State Department Cyber Diplomat Chris Painter noted in a December 2020 Foreign Policy article that there must be more leadership and partnership on global cyber cooperation. What follows represents a thinking-through of what this ought to entail.