Cycon 2024: Oisın Phillips

From the 28th to 31st of May, a number of CDT researchers attended the

NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence conference on Cyber

Conflict (Cycon). The conference took place in Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn,

providing an excellent setting for understanding the current state and thinking

of cyber conflict discussion.

This year's theme was “Over the Horizon” as discussions centered around the

future cyber conflict, and is sure to be beneficial in next year’s theme: “The

Next Steps”. Talks ranged from Technical, Legal, and Strategic. The conference

“Day 0” event was a day to enjoy workshops, including one workshop

conducted by Dr Michael P. Fischerkeller, Dr Emily Goldman, and Prof Richard

Harknett for the purpose of establishing a proactive cyber operational element

into NATO. Other events on this day included a workshop incorporating tabletop

game design into cyber election interference, discussions of AI, and the use

of cyber capabilities in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The day culminated with

a networking event occurring in a repurposed power plant.

The conference began the following day with introductions from Estonian President

Alar Karis, NATO Assistant General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber

David van Weel and US Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy

Nathaniel Fick. Not long after completing his journey in the CDT our very

own Neil Ashdown presented in a talk concerning public-private cooperation in

cyber threat intelligence: a highly relevant topic to this years conference and

the most relevant talk of the day according to Vice Adm. Javier Roca, Spanish

Commander of Joint Cyberspace Command. High praise indeed! This followed

by an evening walking tour of Tallinn, getting an opportunity to enjoy the

highlights of the city and find optimal viewpoints for sights over the Baltic sea.

To echo the mindset of Keynote Speaker Prof Herb Lin, Cycon is a great place

to find out the current thought of those at the forefront of cyber conflict, in

academia, policy, and diplomacy. Hence, the social aspect to such a conference

is always valued. The conference organised social events, such as the aforementioned

networking event and an evening dinner preceding the final day of the

conference, along with the impromptu karaoke sessions that seem to be frequent

during this time. These all provide a great opportunity to be in the same space with 

prominent names of cyber conflict research. One moment you're speaking to Dr Max 

Smeets about the formation of a European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative, the next 

you're piloting an aerial craft through a time trial course in virtual reality.


Cycon provides a great opportunity to form connections with others that share

the same passion for research on matters of cyber conflict. Furthermore, Cycon

provides an opportunity to get immersed and acquainted with those at

the forefront of cyber conflict research; making connections that will make the

experience unforgettable, and increase the potential for collaboration in the

future.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remote working and Cyber Security: Georgia Crossland and Amy Ertan

Image
Introducing the project The shift to remote working represents a huge shift for employees and organisations alike, introducing significant implications for cyber security. Amy Ertan and Georgia Crossland are currently working on a research project, in collaboration with the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS) and funded by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), on the impact of remote working on cyber security and wellbeing. This blog post will give an overview of a section of this project, how remote working impacts cyber security. In response to COVID-19, in March 2020, organisations across the world made the rapid shift away from physical office working to remote working, wherever possible. This shift has had a significant impact across many aspects of organisations. This blog post will offer a high-level overview of how the cyber threat landscape was impacted for many organisations and may further change organisational cyber resilience. Remote workin
Read more

New Publication: Remote Working and (In)Security?: Amy Ertan

Image
A recent research report by CDT researchers Amy Ertan and Georgia Crossland has been published with the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS). The report examines ‘The Impact of Pandemic-Driven Remote Working on Employee Wellbeing, the Psychological Contract and Cyber Security’, with research carried out through a series of interviews with senior cyber security colleagues between January and April 2021. The full report can be found on the RISCS website: New publication: Remote Working and (In)Security | RISCS. Context In the UK and around the world, the impact of COVID-19 represented a total shift away from what was considered ‘normal living’. One aspect of this change was the rapid transition to remote working as people were encouraged to work from home and limit contact with others as far as possible through repeated lockdown conditions. Fellow CDT colleague Georgia Crossland and I were curious to explore how remote working has impacted the experiences - and se
Read more

The Artificial Intelligence Monster: Nicola Bates

Image
Christopher Booker in 2004 wrote of the seven basic plots to any story, one of these being ‘overcoming the monster’. Within Hollywood, such ‘monsters’ often reflects the zeitgeist balancing commercial requirements with the political and societal preoccupations of the age. The monster evolves over time - from Russia in the Cold War years through to lone actors and terrorists and now to seemingly shadowy figures controlling intelligence. Whilst generally lighter in tone, such monsters also exist within children’s cinema. In recent years this monster has become increasingly defined by their use of highly sophisticated technology, finally becoming the technology in ‘The Mitchells vs. the Machine’*. Lethal technology and subversive machines aren’t new concepts in children’s movies. They can, for example, be found in ‘Short Circuit’ back in 1986. This movie begins with five United States military robots in a training exercise against tanks and focusses upon one of the robots becoming ‘alive’
Read more