School of Public Policy and the Heritage Foundation Host Cyber Security Panel Discussion | Newsroom
On Tuesday, January 17, the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, in partnership with
the Heritage Foundation, hosted a panel discussion called Cybersecurity and the Quad:
Opportunities and Challenges Abound as part of a three-day conference titled “Connected
and Secure in the Indo-Pacific: Challenges, Threats, and Opportunities for Quad Cyber
Security.” Kiron Skinner, the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics
at the School of Public Policy, and visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Kathryn
and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, was instrumental
in bringing the two organizations together to organize the conference.
“The Quad” is the common name for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an organization
described by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as “a diplomatic
network of four countries [India, Japan, the United States, and Australia] committed
to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.” The Quad
focuses on the region’s most pressing challenges, including infrastructure, critical
and emerging technology, cyber security, and counterterrorism.
All four member nations were represented on the discussion panel, which featured Gulshan
Rai, a distinguished fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation and former
national cyber security coordinator for the government of India; Mihoko Matsubara,
chief cyber security strategist for the NTT Corporation in Tokyo and a member of the
Japanese government’s cyber security research and development policy committee between
2014 and 2018; Patrick Hallinan, Australian minister counsellor for home affairs and
regional director for the Americas with the Embassy of Australia; and Vice Admiral
T. J. White of the US Navy (retired), former commander of the US Fleet Cyber Command/US
Tenth Fleet/US Navy Space Command and commander of the US Cyber National Mission Force/USCYBERCOM.
The discussion was moderated by Jeff M. Smith, director of the Heritage Foundation’s
Asian Studies Center.
The panelists discussed a worldwide increase in the number and scope of cyber attacks
in recent years, particularly through the use of ransomware that has targeted government
and other public institutions, business and industry, education and research facilities,
and even private citizens. After a major cyber security breach in Australia, Hallinan
shared, “my wife’s personal data was hoovered up. The rubber is very much hitting
the road for regular Australians [regarding the importance of cyber security].” Matsubara
stressed the importance of “the protection of critical infrastructure and rais[ing
the] resiliency of cyber security.”
All panelists emphasized the need for cooperation between the Quad member nations,
including sharing best practices to protect against cyber attacks. Vice Admiral White
remarked that the Quad countries have “shared interests, shared values, and shared
problems,” while later in the discussion, Rai stated, “Mutual cooperation is very,
very important between countries.”
Gloss