EVENT DESCRIPTION

Ransomware may be the most visible cybersecurity crisis of the moment, but it’s just one aspect of a broader national security threat landscape. As the pressure builds for greater government-led responses to cyber threats, the Biden Administration has reportedly opted to lean heavily on U.S. Cyber Command.

USCYBERCOM is one element of a comprehensive and diverse whole-of-government approach to cyber threats. As the United States looks to build and fund an effective toolbox of public-private collaboration on cybersecurity risk management, we’ll take a closer look at the role of law enforcement and military authorities in managing the ransomware threat.

The threat landscape is generally known, the cybersecurity best practices are well established though not widely implemented. But what are the rules of engagement for law enforcement and the military in preparing for and responding to threat actors operating overseas, often in jurisdictions that lack the political will to effectively address these actors? What’s at stake in blending these tools and how do and should we work with allies or even adversarial countries in combating ransomware?

On December 15, 2021, IST’s Megan Stifel hosted a conversation with Lauren Zabierek, Gavin Wilde, Gary Corn, and Dmitri Alperovitch on law enforcement and the military’s role in combating national-scale cyber threats.