Public-Private Partnerships in Cybersecurity and Technology

International & National Security Law Practice Group Teleforum

As behavior in the cyber domain has perhaps become the most ubiquitous asymmetric threat to modern life, governments, companies, and individuals each have unprecedented exposure to theft and sabotage. Home networks are compromised through connected thermostats; commercial airliners’ flight controls have been hacked through in-flight entertainment systems; passwords and credit card data are stored on servers that are the targets of daily hacking attempts, with that data often appearing for sale online.

The second Teleforum in our Security Partnership Series will examine the complex mechanics and ethics of cyber partnerships. Should government agencies be enlisting private security firms to help prevent hacking into their own systems?  On the other hand, should insurance companies require private company customers to do the same?  Should private corporations, particularly financial institutions, be required to report hacking incidents to the federal government, and, if so, to what agency, for what purpose?  Consumer protection?  Economic security?  What are the lawful responses to being hacked for government or industry?  Is the best defense a good offense?  How effective are today’s consumer-level encryption algorithms?  Does public/private cooperation on the cybersecurity front impact private companies’ willingness and ability to cooperate with intelligence investigations under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court?

Featuring:

  • Prof. Catherine B. Lotrionte, Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Foreign Service, Georgetown University
  • Adam Segal, Ira A. Lipman Chair, Emerging Technologies & National Security and Director of the Digital & Cyberspace Policy Program, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
  • Moderator: Adam Pearlman,Special Advisor to the International and National Security Law Practice Group 

As behavior in the cyber domain has perhaps become the most ubiquitous asymmetric threat to modern life, governments, companies, and individuals each have unprecedented exposure to theft and sabotage. Home networks are compromised through connected thermostats; commercial airliners’ flight controls have been hacked through in-flight entertainment systems; passwords and credit card data are stored on servers that are the targets of daily hacking attempts, with that data often appearing for sale online.

The second Teleforum in our Security Partnership Series will examine the complex mechanics and ethics of cyber partnerships. Should government agencies be enlisting private security firms to help prevent hacking into their own systems?  On the other hand, should insurance companies require private company customers to do the same?  Should private corporations, particularly financial institutions, be required to report hacking incidents to the federal government, and, if so, to what agency, for what purpose?  Consumer protection?  Economic security?  What are the lawful responses to being hacked for government or industry?  Is the best defense a good offense?  How effective are today’s consumer-level encryption algorithms?  Does public/private cooperation on the cybersecurity front impact private companies’ willingness and ability to cooperate with intelligence investigations under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court?

Featuring:

  • Prof. Catherine B. Lotrionte, Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Foreign Service, Georgetown University
  • Adam Segal, Ira A. Lipman Chair, Emerging Technologies & National Security and Director of the Digital & Cyberspace Policy Program, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
  • Moderator: Adam Pearlman,Special Advisor to the International and National Security Law Practice Group 

Call begins at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

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