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Cyber and Tech Center

OUR WORK

The NSI Cyber and Technology Center (CTC) expands NSI’s current efforts to promote American leadership in technology innovation and engage with policymakers on critical issues at the intersection of technology and national security.

NSI CTC’s mission is to promote – through dialogue with experts, engagement with policymakers, and cutting-edge research – American technology leadership and to tackle critical innovation, cyber, and emerging technology challenges.

Throughout much of the 20th century, the United States led the world in technological innovation, with the new systems and industries arising from this leadership driving sustained economic growth and underpinning U.S. national security capabilities. To maintain its global leadership, the U.S. must continue to promote rapid innovation and economic growth domestically, and create effective capabilities to protect and defend the U.S. and allied economic base.

NSI CTC’s focuses on critical issue areas for U.S. technological innovation:

  • Harnessing and advancing U.S. technology innovation, including emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, as it relates to U.S. economic and national security;
  • Bringing together the public and private sectors to create a collaborative, productive, and effective national cyber defense to confront the evolving cyber threat environment;
  • Working with allies and partners to ensure a global tech ecosystem that promotes trusted systems and U.S. competitiveness;
  • Affirming the U.S.’s dominance in blockchain innovation to protect U.S. national security; and
  • Maintaining U.S. dominance in technology innovation through growing and strengthening the U.S. tech workforce.

Learn more about NSI CTC’s history, mission, and values here.

 

OUR EXPERTS 

NSI CTC accomplishes its mission by leveraging its vast network of technology and national security professionals and practitioners to produce cutting-edge research and policy recommendations, and to engage with leading policymakers.

NSI CTC’s fellows program consist of more than 100 Distinguished Fellows and Fellows, who represent current and former national security practitioners at the intersection of the fields of emerging technology and national security.

NSI CTC also houses two practitioner-led councils: The Tech Leaders and Innovators Council and the Cyber and Tech Security Council.  The NSI CTC Tech Leaders and Innovators Council is made up of CEOs, COOs, and technology financiers with deep experience in the cyber and tech industry, particularly in developing and supporting new capabilities and core innovation, while the Cyber and Tech Security Council of key CISOs and senior security leaders who have strong backgrounds in cybersecurity. 

 

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS AND COMMENTARY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

PAST EVENTS

View all of the Cyber and Tech Center events here.

CTRL+F

The NSI CTC’s flagship podcast series, CTRL+F provides a deep-dive into emerging technologies, dissects the ever-evolving landscape of tech policy, and uncovers the scientific breakthroughs that are reshaping our world. Each series of CTRL + F is dedicated to exploring a particular facet of the technological revolution, whether it’s the rise of artificial intelligence, the implications of blockchain technology, or the future of cybersecurity.

Unleashing Innovation: Navigating Game Changing Technologies, CTRL+F’s first limited series, focuses on eight game-changing technologies and highlights how these technologies impact U.S. economic and national security interests.  Each episode features two guests, a technical expert and an investor helping to fund these innovative technologies. 

  • Episode 1: Unleashing the Power of Accelerated Computing: Innovation, Impact, and the Future: Dr. Eric Breckenfeld, Director of Technology Policy at Nvidia, and Gilman Louie, CEO and Co-Founder of America’s Frontier Fund
  • Episode 2: Unleashing the Power of Generative AI: Possibilities and Challenges: Dr. Natasha Jaques, Senior Research Scientist at Google Brain, and Michael Brown, Partner at Shield Capital and former Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DUI)
  • Episode 3: Unleashing the Power of Quantum Computing: Innovation and Collaboration: Dr. Steve Flammia, Director of the Center for Quantum Architecture and Software at Virginia Tech University, and Dr. Fiona Murray, Associate Dean of Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Board Member at The NATO Innovation Fund
  • Episode 4: Unleashing the Power of Cloud and Edge Computing: Unlocking New Possibilities: Dr. Anton A. Chuvakin, Leader of Security Solution Strategy at Google Cloud, and Jeremy Hitchcock, Co-Founder and General Partner at New North Ventures
  • Episode 5: Unleashing the Power of Secure-by-Design and Resilience-by-Design Principles: Sounil Yu, Co-Founder and CTO at Knostic and NSI CTC Fellow, and Barmak Meftah, Co-Founder and General Partner at Ballistic Ventures
  • Episode 6: Unleashing the Power of Differential Privacy: Balancing Data Security and Innovation: Dr. Damien Desfontaines, Senior Staff Scientist at Tumult Labs and Andrew McClure, Managing Director at Forgepoint Capital, and NSI CTC Senior Fellow
  • Episode 7: Unleashing the Power of Zero-Trust Security: Redefining Cyber Defense: Dr. Zachary Collier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at Radford University and Tom Clute, Principal at Paladin Capital Group
  • Episode 8: Unleashing the Power of Edge and Cloud AI: Revolutionizing Data and Defense: Dr. Durga Malladi, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Technology Planning & Edge Solutions and Qualcomm Technologies and Guy Filippelli, Founder and Managing Director and Squadra Ventures 

CTRL+F at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum (RNDF) takes a deep dive into the evolving landscape of technology, examining breakthroughs in AI, blockchain, cybersecurity, and more. Each episode explores a distinct facet of technological innovation and its implications for U.S. national security.

  • Exploring the Future of Defense Innovation
    • Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND): Co-chair of the Defense Modernization Caucus, discussing emergent technologies. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.
    • Honorable Christine Fox: Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins APL and former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, with expertise in modernization and innovation. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.
    • Andy Lowery: CEO of Epirus, specializing in directed energy systems to address modern defense challenges. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.
    • Raj Shah: Co-Founder of Shield Capital and former Pentagon DIUx leader, bridging Silicon Valley and military innovation. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.
    • Under Secretary Heidi Shyu: DoD’s Chief Technology Officer, driving innovation through DARPA, the Missile Defense Agency, and other initiatives. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.
    • Brandon Tseng: Co-Founder of Shield AI, focusing on intelligent autonomous systems for contested environments. This episode is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming services.

 

FAULT LINES SUMMER SERIES ON AI

Fault Lines, the National Security Institute’s flagship podcast, produced a summer series on AI, Breaking Barriers: Understanding the AI Revolution, hosting a number of amazing guests who touched on different aspects of AI, including scientific advancements, policy development, and potential regulation. NSI was happy to hear from:

  • Episode 239 and 240: Dr. Stephen Wolfram, Founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, on the basics and benefits AI and AI policy
  • Episode 241: Dr. Hany Farid, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, on how AI is leveraged for misinformation and disinformation
  • Episode 242: Sue Gordon, former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, on AI in the defense sector
  • Episode 243: Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, on the Biden Administration’s AI initiatives and her assessment of China’s current and future AI capabilities
  • Episode 244: Michèle Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, on whether AI is a net threat or a net opportunity for the Department of Defense
  • Episode 245: Dr. Charles Clancy, Senior Vice President and Chief Futurist of MITRE and head of MITRE Labs, on where large language models are headed and what sensible AI security looks like
  • Episode 246: Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder and Executive Chairman of Robust AI, on how to balance ethics and the rise of AI in the private sector and society more broadly
  • Episode 247: Ylli Bajraktari, President and CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project, on how AI is transforming the battlefield and what is at stake if the U.S. loses the AI race to China
  • Episode 248: Will Hurd, candidate for the Republican nomination for President, former U.S. Representative for Texas’s 23rd District, and former Board Member for OpenAI, on what Congress has done in the wake of AI and what that means for Americans
  • Episode 249: Jennifer K. Hay, Director of the Defense Digital Service in the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office of the Department of Defense, on how the DOD is responding to and grappling with the AI revolution