Cyber From The Start

In this episode, host Jim Lewis talks with Michael Daniel, President and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance, and former Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Cybersecurity Coordinator at the National Security Council. They discuss how cybersecurity leadership can be structured in the executive branch, the role of government in driving cybersecurity progress, and the importance of threat intelligence sharing for reducing cybersecurity risks.

In this episode, host Jim Lewis continues his discussion with Marie “Neill” Sciarrone, President and Co-Founder of Trinity Cyber and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Cybersecurity Policy under George W. Bush. While at the White House, she was responsible for coordinating cybersecurity policy and programming for the Bush administration, including the influential Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI).

In this episode, host Jim Lewis talks with Marie “Neill” Sciarrone, President and Co-Founder of Trinity Cyber and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Cybersecurity Policy under George W. Bush. While at the White House, she was responsible for coordinating cybersecurity policy and programming for the Bush administration, including the influential Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI).

In this episode, Jim Lewis continues talking with Eli Sugarman, program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation about the future of cybersecurity.

In this episode, Jim Lewis talks with Eli Sugarman, program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation about the future of cybersecurity.

In this episode, Jim Lewis interviews Ellen Nakashima, national security journalist for The Washington Post, recipient of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize, and one of the country's leading journalistic voices on cyber matters. They discuss how she began writing on cybersecurity issues; how cyber and the art of reporting on cyber have changed over time; how journalism can directly influence policy outcomes; and key moments in her career as a national security writer, including the Edward Snowden leaks and Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Hacktivism – hacking for social change – has a rich history that started with a little-known group called the Cult of the Dead Cow. Jim Lewis talks with Joseph Menn, a renown cybersecurity reporter, to discuss his new book, Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World. They examine the legacy of some of the original cyber vigilantes, and new trends in the hacktivist community, from infiltrating spyware vendors to intelligence agencies.

Jim Lewis sits down with Siobhan Gorman, an award-winning journalist formerly at The Wall Street Journal and The Baltimore Sun, to discuss her career reporting on cybersecurity and national security issues. Gorman was a pioneer in how the U.S. media reports on cybersecurity. Join them as they examine what it takes to cover spy agencies, build sources, and simplify complex cybersecurity issues for the public good.

Host Jim Lewis interviews Keith Alexander, a retired four-star general who served as commander of the United States Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency in the Bush and Obama administrations. Listen in to hear how General Alexander helped establish and structure U.S. Cyber Command. General Alexander talks about NSA modernization, the different responsibilities that the Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security have to address cybersecurity threats; the current threats in cyberspace; and the merits of persistent engagement.

Host Jim Lewis interviews Admiral Michael McConnell, former Director of the National Security Agency, and the second Director of National Intelligence. As head of the NSA during the early days of the internet, he helped set the path for how the U.S. intelligence community responded to the opportunities and risks of emerging digital technologies. They discuss how the nature of surveillance transformed with the emergence of the internet, how U.S. vulnerability to cyber threats has changed over time, and what needs to be done to confront the growing cyber threat posed by our nation’s adversaries.

In this episode Jim Lewis interviews William J. “Bill” Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS, a leading defense contractor, about his time as the Comptroller and Deputy Secretary of Defense. At the Department of Defense (DoD) he created a new kind of partnership between companies in the defense industrial base (DIB) through the DIB program and helped reorient DoD to treat cyber as a fifth domain.

Host Jim Lewis interviews Dick Clarke, who served as a senior advisor in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, helping to create the first national cybersecurity strategy. He began looking at cybersecurity as a national security issue in the ‘90s and has been central to thinking about cybersecurity for decades. They discuss the awakening of government and industry to cybersecurity threats, the real implications of cyber attacks, and the difficulties of coordinating government efforts.

In this first episode, host Jim Lewis interviews John Hamre, President and CEO of CSIS and Former Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was one of the first to recognize the strategic implications of cybersecurity and cyber conflict, and who helped lead the DoD in its early approaches to emerging cyber issues. He discusses the hacking incidents that first alerted policymakers to the cyber threats faced by the U.S.; the obstacles and successes in working with other agencies, Congress, and the private sector to address cyber threats; and how to chart a path towards developing structures and doctrines to manage cyber risks.