Cybersecurity expert Ahana Datta discusses the complexities and evolving nature of cybersecurity, touching on topics like the “security-insecurity paradox,” the challenges of defending against nation-state actors and private hackers, and the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, including healthcare systems and Internet of Things devices. She explores the role of AI in both offensive and defensive cyber strategies, the importance of user education, and the persistent risks associated with unsecure systems like email and voting technologies. The conversation also addresses the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, the trust deficit in technological and institutional systems, and the potential of emerging solutions like passkeys to improve security. Ahana emphasizes the need for robust, scalable defenses and collective efforts to mitigate the ever-growing risks in cyberspace.
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Ahana Datta:
So there’s this thing called the Security-Insecurity Paradox and it’s based on the quite classic approaches to stable relations in geopolitics but it applies to cybersecurity as well which is that the more you attack systems inside the space and the more defenses you apply to prevent future attacks the cost of launching new attacks becomes more and more expensive. So if you follow this arms race scenario to its extreme, then certainly it will keep intensifying and will be within the domain of a few very well resourced actors and probably mostly nation state players.
Link: “Trust, interdependence, and power in cyber statecraft” by Ahana Datta
