Scoring policy points

On Friday, I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge, organized by the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. More than twenty teams of graduate and undergraduate students specializing in cyber statecraft presented policy options for responding to a fictional cyber attack with global implications. Cyber risk can lead governments into uncharted waters, and provocative exercises like this allow us to explore the potential consequences (both intended and unintended) of state action before crisis hits. To that end, I was impressed by the breadth, depth, and creativity of the competitors' arguments, which reflected a growing academic emphasis on topics relevant to cyber policy. And that is very encouraging.