Abstract
Information
access and distribution is expanding exponentially. Recent technological advancements have created a state of
information openness where the general public has easy access both to a wealth
of information previously available only for select government agencies and to
a large array of communication-collaboration tools that can further develop and
disseminate content. This information, or cyber, openness is having a profound
impact on society at large and has equally profound, if not greater,
implications for international and national security in terms of both
capabilities and vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, many of the potential expanded
capabilities have yet to be realized and many of the new vulnerabilities have
yet to be fully understood. This project aims to illuminate the emerging cyber capabilities from
various viewpoints: users and developers, operational impacts and
vulnerabilities in conflict and crisis management, enhancement and suppression
of democratic development, and future trends: what issues will face society in
the cyber world of 2050?
Alistair Dawson is the Executive Assistant to CISAC’s co-director,
Professor Siegfried Hecker. Prior to her arrival at CISAC, she served
as an Administrative Assistant at the UC Institute on Global Conflict
and Cooperation in San Diego, California. She obtained a BA in
International Studies with an emphasis in Political Science along with
a minor in European History from the University of California San
Diego. Alistair received additional training in European Politics and
Government while participating in the Education Abroad Program at the
University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
Jeff Richardson recently retired after 35 years at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory. At LLNL he held a variety of
program management positions, including Division Leader of Chemistry
and later of Proliferation Prevention. He spent two tours in
Washington DC, supporting NNSA in Nonproliferation R&D and DoD in
the USAF Directorate of Nuclear Operations, Plans and Requirements.
His most recent paper, Shifting from a Nuclear Triad to a Nuclear
Dyad, explores an alternate future strategy for the US nuclear
arsenal. At CISAC he will focus on science diplomacy, using
science as a tool for international engagement and promoting regional
security. He will also be working on developing the concept of cyber
openness (i.e., how the information revolution will change
international security).
Jeff earned his BS degree in chemistry from CalTech and his PhD in organic chemistry from Stanford University. His work at
LLNL including chemical and materials science research, energy
research, materials development for nuclear weapons programs,
radiation detection for border security, nuclear materials protection,
and proliferation detection, science cooperation for international
security, and support for the Chemical Weapons Convention.
