Tomorrow's Silver Lining: Cyber Resilience, Cyber Defence, and New Technologies
William & Mary, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence (CCDCOE), EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative - EU Cyber Direct, and King's College London hosted a conference and workshop on: "Tomorrow's Silver Lining: Cyber Resilience, Cyber Defence, and New Technologies," in Brussels, Belgium on 28 October 2022, 0900 - 1400 CET.
This event was strategically positioned between NATO EDGE and the Presidency’s Cyber Conference to bridge a conversation about the emerging cybersecurity landscape. It brought together state-of-art knowledge and expertise from government, military, industry, academy, and civil society.
“Tomorrow's Silver Lining” was open to the public. Those in Brussels and the surround areas had the option to attend the full program, including the Break-Out Groups, in-person. Those abroad or unable to attend in-person viewed the live stream of the Welcome Remarks and Keynote Address, "Crossing the Rubicon: When A Cyber Conflict Becomes A (Cyber) War" panel, and Closing Remarks and Break-Out Groups Reports. Videos will be posted shortly.
This event was free of charge and was generously supported by a grant from the U.S. Mission to NATO.
Contact wgc@wm.edu to receive more information.
Agenda
9:00 - 9:30: Welcome Coffee and Networking
9:30 - 9:45: Welcome Remarks and Address [Live Streamed]
- Dr Kathryn H Floyd, Director, Whole of Government Center of Excellence, William & Mary
- Dr Teresa Longo, Associate Provost for International Affairs and Executive Director, Reves Center for International Studies, W&M
- Mr Richard Holtzapple, Deputy Permanent Representative, U.S. Mission to NATO
9:45 – 10:45: Crossing the Rubicon: When A Cyber Conflict Becomes A (Cyber) War [Panel Presentation – Live Streamed]
Policymakers and scholars have spent a fair amount of energy trying to understand how new technologies might impact the nature of conflict, and in particular how the use of cyber operations will change our perception of war and peace. This led to the emergence of new policy communities, university departments, and sometimes new vocabulary to describe the new uncharted world of (cyber) conflict. And yet, as the challenges such as cyber espionage, ransomware operations, interference operations, or the ongoing war in Ukraine demonstrate, both researchers and policymakers are still struggling with a basic question: when does a cyber conflict become a (cyber) war? The answer to this question carries significant implications for defence policies and planning, which is why governments have avoided to formulate clear demarcation lines. But what if we have already crossed the Rubicon? How can NATO and its partners better anticipate and prepare for what lies beyond?
- Dr Joseph Devanny, Lecturer in War Studies and Deputy Director of the Centre for Defence Studies, King's College London
- Mr Christian-Marc Lifländer, Head of the Cyber and Hybrid Policy Section (CHP), NATO
- Dr Monica Kaminska, Assistant Professor, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University
- Mr Oleksandr Potii, Deputy Chairman, State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine
- Ms Andrea G. Rodríguez, Lead Digital Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre [Moderator]
10:45 – 11:15: Coffee Break and Networking
11:15 – 12:30: Workshops
Breakout Group #1: Cyber Resilience and Cyber Defence
NATO’s core activities include deploying military capabilities in and through the highly contested cyber domain. Even though most EU and NATO countries have declared developing military cyber organizations and formation such as cyber commands or cyber forces, a few existing case studies and comparative research show that maturity of them is below official statements and what would be expected given many years of their existence. Analysts have identified a range of challenges (largely falling into legal, political, structural, and resource constraints categories). In that context, Alliance-wide interoperability is put under question. On the EU side, what changes will the EU Military Vision and Strategy on Cyberspace as a Domain of Operations and the ongoing development of the military Concept on Cyber Defence for EU-led military operations and missions bring? This session explores how these countries and their global partners could better align interests, capabilities, strategy, and doctrines, and enhance joint approach by better matching NATO’s operational requirements and strategic ambitions in the cyber domain.
- Ms Sally Daultrey, Intelligence Analyst, Seven Signals Ltd
- Mr Nigel Inkster, Senior Adviser for Cyber Security and China, The International Institute for Strategic Studies
- Ms Piret Pernik, Cybersecurity Researcher, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence [Moderator]
- Mr Kaan Sahin, Cyber and Hybrid Policy Officer, NATO
- Dr Max Smeets, Senior Researcher, Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative
Breakout Group #2: Cyber Security and New Technologies / Emerging Disruptive Technologies (EDTs)
Emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs) present both risks and opportunities. Greater reliance on EDTs will likely involve growing uncertainty and complexity from the ‘boardroom’ to the ‘battlefield’. The aim of the panel is to explore how the difficulties that stem from the contested definition of EDTs, their dual-use nature, and ethical considerations. Their uncertain roles in future security and defense applications impact cyber defence in multiple ways. In particular, we will discuss how an unclear and contested conceptual understanding of dual-use EDTs may lead to inconsistent approaches to human oversight, strategic planning, foresight, and procurement. Civil-military synergies and human-machine teaming are two of the main issues to be highlighted by the panel participants. Given that a lot of innovation originates in the commercial sector, specifically in start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the inclusion of these actors into the cybersecurity and defense markets and supply chains will be important going forward.
- Dr Raluca Csernatoni, Fellow, Carnegie Europe [Moderator]
- Dr Amy Ertan, Cyber and Hybrid Policy Section (CHP), Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESC), NATO
- Dr Lucas Kello, Associate Professor of International Relations, Oxford University
- Ms Zoe Stanley-Lockman, Innovation Officer, Innovation Unit, Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO
- Dr Bruno Volckaert, Professor, IDLab, Ghent University
12:45 - 13:00: Report Outs from Break Out Groups [Live Streamed]
- Dr Joseph Devanny, Lecturer in War Studies and Deputy Director of the Centre for Defence Studies, King's College London
- Ms Piret Pernik, Cybersecurity Researcher, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence
- Dr Raluca Csernatoni, Fellow, Carnegie Europe
13:00 - 13:15: Closing Remarks [Live Streamed]
- Dr Kathryn H Floyd, Director, Whole of Government Center of Excellence, William & Mary
- Lightning Presentation by the William & Mary Global Innovation Challenge x NATO Countering Disinformation Competition featuring the winning synopses
13:15 - 14:30: Lunch
14:00 - 16:00: Design Thinking and Entrepreneurial Approaches to Cyber Defence
This is a closed door workshop for next generation leaders. Participants will be given a specific challenge faced by NATO in the cyber defence realm. They will go through a guided session on how to apply design thinking to this task, then be given space to ideate. At the end of the workshop, participants will pitch their solutions to the challenge. Participating students will receive a certificate from William & Mary.
- Dr Amy Ertan, Cyber and Hybrid Policy Section (CHP), Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESC), NATO [Facilitator]
- Mr Graham Henshaw, Executive Director, Miller Entrepreneurship Center, William & Mary [Facilitator]
- Dr Anthony Stefanidis, Professor of Computer Science, William & Mary [Facilitator]
This program was made possible by a generous grant from the U.S. Mission to NATO.
