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Cyber Defending Taiwan:
Lessons from Ukraine
Date: Friday, September 29, 2023
Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm (PT)
Location: Great Hall, Bancroft Hotel, 2680 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA
Host: UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
Deepening Taiwan’s defense and resilience in the cyber domain is key to advancing diplomatic solutions to the rising geopolitical tensions with China in the region.
This one-day conference engaging private, public, and academic leaders will focus on increasing the resilience of Taiwan to threats and vulnerabilities in the cyber domain and beyond. In the process, the workshop engages with the lessons learned from recent history—drawing on the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Co-sponsored by:
- Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
- Institute of International Studies
- Human Rights Center
- Center for Security in Politics
- Berkeley APEC Study Center
- Korea Law Center
- The Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law
- The Alexander Hamilton Society
Featuring
10:00 – 10:05am – Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Agenda
10:05 – 11:15am – Session 1: Cyberattacks in the Ukrainian Invasion
Looking back at the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and previous Russian cyberattacks, this session will explore what kinds of signposts might exist before aggression against Taiwan.
Confirmed Panelists:
- Gil Baram – Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
- Lindsay Freeman – Technology, Law, and Policy Director, Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
- Aleksandr Kobzanets – Special Agent, FBI
- Elaine Korzak – Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
- Andrew Reddie – Founder, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab; Associate Research Professor, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
11:15am – 12:15pm – Session 2: The Taiwan Context
This session transitions to the Taiwan security context to better understand its posture with China as a competitor. What are the characteristics of Taiwan’s internet infrastructure and how might it resist physical or logical cyberattack? How has the larger technology competition strategy between the US and China affected Taiwan? How might China’s prowess in outer space affected its cyber posture with regard to Taiwan?
Confirmed Panelists:
- Vinod Aggarwal – Director, Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center; Professor, UC Berkeley Travers Department of Political Science
- Benjamin Bahney – Senior Fellow, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Graham Webster – Research Scholar, DigiChina Project, Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance at Stanford University
- Nick Merrill – Director, Daylight Security Research Lab, UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
12:30 – 1:00pm – Lunch Keynote
1:25 – 2:25pm – Session 3: Securing Freedom for Taiwan
Private ownership of internet infrastructure makes corporations key partners in security. This forward-looking session analyzes what the public and private sector should be doing now and in the next 2–3 years to secure Taiwan.
Confirmed Panelists:
- Ritwik Gupta – Deputy Technical Director for Autonomy, Defense Innovation Unit
- Hung-dah Su – Dean, College of Social Sciences; Professor, Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University
- Tim Mather – Partner and vCISO, Fortium Partners
- Janet Napolitano – Director, Center for Security in Politics; Professor, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
2:30 – 3:00pm – Closing Keynote
Additional speakers to be announced soon!
Selected literature:
- Gordon, Susan M., Michael G. Mullen, and David Sacks, U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era:vResponding to a More Assertive China, CFR Task Force No. 81 (2023)
- Huang, Hsini & Li, Tien-Shen (2018) A centralised cybersecurity strategy for Taiwan, Journal of Cyber Policy, 3:3, 344-362, DOI: 10.1080/23738871.2018.1553987
- Aggarwal, Vinod K. & Andrew W. Reddie (2018) Comparative industrial policy and cybersecurity: a framework for analysis, Journal of Cyber Policy, 3:3, 291-305, DOI: 10.1080/23738871.2018.1553989
- Microsoft Digital Security Unit, An overview of Russia’s cyberattack activity in Ukraine (April 2022)
- Anonymous Chinese Students, The Poster Movement: A lonely protest in Beijing echoed by politically awakening Chinese students overseas, The Daily Cal, Nov. 17, 2022: https://www.dailycal.org/2022/11/17/the-poster-movement-a-lonely-protest-in-beijing-echoed-by-politically-awakening-chinese-students-overseas
Accessibility Accommodations
If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting, CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about mobility access in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Rachel Wesen at cltcevents@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7–10 days in advance of the event.
