Crossroads Blog | Institute National Security and Counterterrorism

blockchain, Cybersecurity, geneva convention, governance, international law, microsoft

Cyber Round Up: Clippinger on Blockchain; Microsoft wants ‘Digital Geneva’; House Chairman paints bleak cyber picture

  • Blockchain, Burning Man, and the Future of Governance: A Conversation with John Clippinger (Forbes):   An article this morning by Robert Wolcott, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Kellogg Innovation Network at Northwestern University, discusses Wolcott’s conversation with John Clippinger, who is the founder of the Institute for Data-Driven Design and a research scientist at MIT.   One topic of the conversation was blockchain and Clippinger’s view of governance in the digital age.   The summary of the discussion talks about the numerous sources that Clippinger develops his views of governance, which include the belief that everyone is a stakeholder in the digital age and the approach shouldn’t be top down.  The article cites blockchain as an area in which Clippinger was ahead of the curve, and a way to involve all the necessary stakeholders in governance.  The full summary, which includes a video of the conversation, can be found here.
  • Microsoft president touts ‘Digital Geneva Convention’ during cybersecurity keynote speech (Washington Times):   An article earlier this week reported that Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, called for world leaders to establish a cyber version of the Geneva Convention to protect individuals from state sponsored cyber attacks.   The article said that Smith emphasized how Geneva Conventions have been added and modified to adapt with the times, and another one is needed now in the digital age.   The article quotes Smith as also stressing the need for technology companies to play a role in this new Digital Geneva, just as the Red Cross plays a role in existing conventions.  The full article can be found here.
  • DHS chairman paints bleak cybersecurity picture (Threat Post):  Another report coming out of the RSA Conference this week in San Francisco says that some government officials are not too confident in the nation’s cyber security.  Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, says that we are in the fight of our “digital lives” and we are not winning, the article says.  McCaul echoed the popular calls for cooperation between the public and private sectors, and stressed that offensive cyber tools are far outnumbering those on the defensive side.  Notably, McCaul also called for the creation of a stronger cyber agency within DHS.  The rest of McCaul’s comments can be read here.

Leave a Reply

Bitnami