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The Lawfare Podcast

Lawfare Archive: Ben Buchanan on 'The Hacker and the State'

Jun 10, 2023
Ben Buchanan, cybersecurity and statecraft scholar, discusses his book 'The Hacker and the State' and topics such as name-and-shame indictments, motives behind state-sponsored cyber operations, home field advantage in cyberspace, the mystery of the Shadow Brokers, the effectiveness of indictments in deterring hacking, Russian interference in elections, exposure as a harm in geopolitical hacking, trends in geopolitical hacking, and the need for red lines to deter cyber attacks.
43:26

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • State-sponsored hacking operations have shifted from traditional espionage to more aggressive attacks such as disruptive attacks and election interference, representing an ongoing daily competition between nations in cyberspace.
  • The increasing use of hacking tools as a tool of statecraft has led to selective leaking and exposure of hacking tools as a means to weaken adversaries, emphasizing the significance of these leaks and their potential geopolitical consequences.

Deep dives

Cyber Attacks and Geopolitics

The podcast episode discusses the increasing importance of cyber attacks as a tool of statecraft in international geopolitics. The episode highlights the shift from traditional espionage to more aggressive hacking operations, such as disruptive attacks and election interference, carried out by nations like Russia, China, and Iran. The podcast emphasizes the ongoing daily competition between nations in cyberspace and the potential consequences of these actions. It also explores the challenges of deterrence and the asymmetry in disclosing hacking losses. Overall, the episode provides insights into the evolving landscape of cyber attacks and the geopolitical implications they have on nations.

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