Mercury: Can you hack it? Pell Center scholar says prepare now for cyber threats

The Mercury recently interviewed Pell Center Fellow for Cyber Leadership Francesca Spidalieri about the reality of cyber warfare and the significance of cyber leadership in the United States. The interview is featured in this week’s Mercury and is available on local newsstands and online:

NEWPORT- The National Security Administration’s snooping scandal has made it clear that our secrets aren’t safe on the Internet. But a threat to our privacy isn’t the only harm lurking in cyberspace. There is the risk of theft — one’s identity, money, intellectual property or national secrets — even the danger that your computer could become a zombie in a coordinated attack against a particular state or other target, as happened during the Russia-Georgia War in 2008. But even the best universities aren’t preparing future leaders to deal with persistent cyber threats, says Francesca Spidalieri, who recently authored a report addressing the need for better strategic education for Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. The Italian scholar is currently a cyber leadership fellow at the Pell Center.

What is cyber leadership?

Cyber security is a hot topic at conferences and symposia, but the focus is always on technology — the next firewall, encryption, using technology to create cyber warriors, things like that. But there is a gap. Beyond the technological solutions, what are we doing to train the leaders of our critical institutions? That’s the focus of my work at the Pell Center.

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