President Obama will join experts from government, industry, and academia tomorrow at a first-of-its-kind Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection hosted by Stanford University, a grantee of our Cyber Initiative. If you’re wondering how we got here, here’s 10 links to help get you up to speed.
Many of the Hewlett Foundation’s grantees will take part in the summit, our own Larry Kramer will speak on a panel this evening, and we’re excited about the renewed focus and cross-sector collaboration that it represents.
1. The White House explains the goals of the Summit and recent cybersecurity policy initiatives at its site. Whitehouse.gov will also livestream the summit on Friday.
2. The summit strives to bridge the gap between Washington and Silicon Valley by focusing on cybersecurity issues of interest to consumers, though the Wall Street Journal notes that the list of attendees is notable not just for who will be there, but who’s skipping it.
3. The New York Times reports on the announcement that a new Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center will be created to unify government efforts to identify and respond to cyber-attacks.
4. Stanford’s Herb Lin describes the importance of an evolving research agenda for cyber policy and security.
5. A RAND Corporation report, Markets for Cybercrime Tools and Stolen Data: Hacker’s Bazaar, argues that understanding the economic incentives behind cybercrime is critical to effectively combatting it.
6. The New America Foundation notes that encryption plays a critical role in protecting consumers’ sensitive information and communications and should be respected by government.
7. New America also argues that efforts to counter cybersecurity threats must be careful not to fragment and undermine the free and open Internet
8. Ben FitzGerald of the Center for a New American Security explains why privacy advocates are skeptical about newly issued NSA guidelines for gathering and storing data.
9. A report from the Center for a New American Security describes China’s cyber strategy—information that is critical for understanding the U.S. cyber debate.
10. And finally, yours truly, writing for Forbes, explaining why Washington needs a comprehensive policy playbook and plans in place to respond to major cyber incidents like the Sony Pictures attack.
The Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber strategy is explained in some detail in two memos staff prepared for our Board: at the launch of the Initiative, and in support of our recent grants to Berkeley, MIT, and Stanford to establish cybersecurity policy centers on their campuses.