What Cyber Persistent Engagement and Defend Forward mean for national and local cyber strategies: the anticipatory challenge
The United States has shifted its approach to the challenge of cyber insecurity through the adoption of a National Cyber Strategy focused on persistently engaging in the limitation, frustration, and disruption of adversary cyber campaigns. The DoD strategy of Defend Forward reconceptualizes how to manage strategic competition in and through cyberspace. The United Kingdom, Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, and others have all adopted in the last year a more anticipatory footing toward reducing cyber insecurity. This talk will examine the core theoretical logic behind this shift—the concept of initiative persistence and what it means for education, workforce development and whole of nation-plus postures.
Bio
Dr. Richard J. Harknett is professor and director of the School of Public and International Affairs and chair of the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy at the University of Cincinnati. He co-directs the Ohio Cyber Range Institute, a state-wide organization supporting education, workforce, economic, and research development in cybersecurity. He served as Scholar-in-Residence at U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency. He has presented both policy briefings and academic research in 11 countries, on Capitol Hill, and to various US Federal and State government agencies. Professor Harknett has held two Fulbright Scholar appointments: in Cyber Studies at Oxford University, UK and in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Austria, where he holds a professorial lecturer appointment. He has authored over 60 publications including the co-authored book Cyber Persistence Theory: redefining national security in cyberspace (Oxford Univ Press, 2022) and has contributed to raising over $50 million in institutional and research grant and philanthropic support.