Convenings and Events

Cyber Risk and Careers: Tomás Maldonado of the NFL

January 19, 2021

The National Football League's Chief Information Security Officer Tomás Maldonado joined Professor Healey and students as he shared his career trajectory, experiences, and advice to students seeking careers in cybersecurity.

Second Annual Cyber Risk to Financial Stability: State of the Field Conference

December 14-15, 2020

Together with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Tech & Policy Initiative at SIPA hosted the second annual conferen to Cyber Risk to the Financial Sector. Over two days, experts across the financial and cybersecurity fields and government, academic, and private sectors discussed “What We’re Learning?”, “What We’re Doing?”  and “What’s Next?” in managing and mitigating cyber threats to financial stability. Read more »

NYC Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

October 30, 2020

On October 30th and 31th, students from across the globe joined the fifth SIPA-hosted NYC Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. During the digital competition, the 32 teams were challenged to respond to an realistic scenario exercise based on an evolving cyber crisis and presented to a panel of high level judges including private industry executives and former White House officials. The two day event also featured keynote speakers, technology demonstrations and career networking opportunities. Read more »

The Perfect Weapon - A Panel Discussion at Columbia

October 23, 2020

The Tech & Policy Initaitive hosted "The Perfect Weapon - A Panel Discussion at Columbia" focusing on the implications of the rise of cyber conflict based on The Perfect Weapon best-selling book and HBO documentary. The panel included the author David Sanger and the director, John Maggio, in conversation with Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs’ dean, Merit Janow, and Professor Jason Healey. The panel especially covered discussions of cyber protection and resilience for the 2020 elections. Read more »

Policy at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): A Discussion with Natasha Cohen

October 15, 2020

The cyber program and Digital Cyber Group at SIPA co-hosted a talk with Natasha Cohen, Senior Cyber Operations Planner and Strategist at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Students learned about the role that of CISA to build the nation's capacity to defend against cyber-attacks and its work with the federal government to provide cybersecurity tools, incident response services, and assessment capabilities to safeguard the ‘.gov’ networks that support the essential operations of partner departments and agencies.

Repairing Our Voting Infrastructure: Planning for the 2020 Election

August 5, 2020

The Tech & Policy Initaitive co-hosted the pre-election panel with Tiana Epps-Johnson, Executive Director of the Center for Tech and Civic Life, Kate Gage, Founding Partner of the Movement Cooperative, and Amber McReynolds CEO of the National Vote At Home Institute and Coalition, moderated by Columbia World Projects Fellow Hollie Russon Gilman. The event focused on how to protect against voter suppression efforts and lower barriers to voting by traditionally marginalized communities whilst fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch the recorded discussion here »

Protests, Racism and Civil-Military Relations

July 30, 2020

The SIPA Cyber Program and Tech & Policy Initiative co-hosted the event "Protests, Racism and Civil-Military Relations" as the startling events of the summer evoked protests and discussions over the systemic racial injustice and treatment of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), particularly sparked by police abuse and extrajudicial killings towards this community. Panelists reviewed racism in the military, its impact on the trust between the military and the citizens it is supposed to protect, and its long-term effects. The event was introduced by Dr. Stephen Biddle, Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and hosted Dr. Morten Ender, Professor of Sociology, US Military Academy, Dr. Alice Hunt Friend, Visiting Research Professor, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Vincent Stewart, former Deputy Commander of US Cyber Command. Watch the recorded discussion here »

Cyber Risk and Careers: Jim Penrose and Thomas Lind of Bluevoyant

May 1, 2020

BlueVoyant Chief Operating Officer Jim Penrose as well as Co-Head of Strategic Intelligence and SIPA alumni Thomas Lind, joined Professor Healey and students as they shared their trajectories, experiences, and advice to students seeking careers in cybersecurity. The invited speakers also discussed BlueVoyant's role and the work it does that sets them apart from other consulting companies.

How a startup is using data location to fight the spread of COVID-19

April 28, 2020

SIPA´s Tech and Policy Initiative alongside the Technology and Innovation Student Association and Brazil Talk hosted Inloco entrepreneur Andre Ferraz, to share more about their product. Inloco collects anonymized data from 60 million devices, enabling mobile apps to provide location-aware services while securing the privacy of its users. Ferraz also shared how this product has been adapted during COVID-19 times for governments to track data to help control the virus.

How a startup is producing rapid tests for COVID-19

April 24, 2020

SIPA's Tech and Policy Initiative alongside the Technology and Innovation Student Association and Brazil Talk hosted a conversation with entrepreneur Marcus Figueiredo from Hi Technologies in which he discussed their rapid response to COVID-19, based on their experience developing and rapidly distributing almost 20 rapid exams, including Zika Dengue, throughout Brazil.

Cyber Risk and Careers: Benjamin Read of FireEye

April 24, 2020

Senior Manager for Cyber Espionage Analysis in FireEye’s Intelligence unit and former SIPA alum Benjamin Read joined Professor Healey and his students to discuss his work as well as the field of Cyber Threat Intelligence. During the discussion, they also talked about skills and tips for current students to be successful in developing a career in this area.

Cyber Risk and Careers: Phil Venables of Goldman Sachs

April 17, 2020

Students and Professor Healey were joined by Phil Venables, one of the best CISOs that ever was, with a 20-year career at Goldman Sachs, including as CISO, Head of Technology Risk, Chief Operational Risk Officer, and board member of Goldman Sachs Bank. As a Senior Advisor, he supports the firm’s executive leadership and client franchise on cybersecurity, technology risk, digital business risk and operational resilience. Students learned about his role and some of the more technical aspects of his work.

Cyber Risk and Careers: Catherine Mulligan of Aon

April 10, 2020

Cyber insurance is central to every company’s risk management posture and increasingly important as a policy tool, with many governments clamoring for more cyber insurance to help mitigate threats (and drive corporate behavior to improve their security to qualify for cheaper rates). Students and Professor Healey tuned in for a conversation with one of the greats in the industry, Catherine Mulligan.

Cyber Risk and Careers: Katherine Rosen and JP Morgan

April 4, 2020

Professor Healey and his students were joined by Katheryn Rosen, JP Morgan managing director of Technology and Cybersecurity Policy and Partnerships and SIPA adjunct faculty and former Deputy Assistant Secretary at Treasury; Debbie Eng, an executive director of the office with a background from DHS and the Chertoff Group and Ben Flatgard, another executive director, with a background from Treasury and the NSC for a panel discussion on JP Morgans programs on Technology and Cybersecurity Policy and Partnerships. This group does all the external, international outreach on the overlaps of cybersecurity and the finance sector including all the groups we’ve discussed, like the FS-ISAC, FSARC, FBIIC, and FSSCC. They are at the root of the bank’s strategy and outreach. During the panel, they provided insight into these issues and careers in cyber.

Cyber Conversations: Neal Pollard, CISO of UBS

March 27, 2020

Students joined Professor Healey for an online conversation with Neal Pollard, the global CISO of UBS and Professor at SIPA. During their time together, Pollard shared his experiences in his role at UBS, where he leads the bank’s global cyber and information security program. He also discussed the skills and knowledge necessary for students to become effective cyber professionals.

"A Dark Place" Film Screening and Panel

March 3, 2020

SIPA’s Tech and Policy Initiative co-hosted a screening of A Dark Place, a documentary showcasing the realities of cyber harassment experienced by women. The film was followed by a panel discussion featuring Anya Schiffrin, Agnes S. Callamard, and Sarah Guinee.

Surveillance of Dissent: Dangers & Solutions

March 2, 2020

Organized with Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, this panel discussion involved human rights experts, lawyers, and technologists as they considered questions concerning the dangers of private surveillance technology and possible responses to it.

George W. Ball Lecture with President Toomas Ilves

February 11, 2020

Toomas Ilves—a former president of Estonia and SIPA’s George Ball Adjunct Professor for Spring 2020—spoke on “Cybersecurity, the Digital State, and Democratic Governance.” Ilves, who led his country from 2006 to 2016, discussed the challenges of digital transformation amid the Baltic nation’s embrace of independence in the post-Soviet era. Read more »

Civic by TED at SIPA 

February 4, 2020

SIPA's Tech & Policy and the Entrepreneurship & Policy Initiatives hosted a closed workshop with Civic, a new effort being incubated at TED, that aims to help build a healthy information commons where people can reliably find factual information and participate in democratic discourse. 

Bridging the Gap: Workshop on Cyber Conflict 

November 12, 2019

SIPA in partnership with the Cyber Conflict Studies Association hosted the annual Bridging the Gap workshop. This year’s event continued to bring together academics and practitioners over an array of topics in cyber conflict including societal response to cyber attacks, covert action in cyberspace, and persistent engagement. The event also saw Lt. Gen (retd.) Vincent Stewart in a keynote discussion.

NYC Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

November 8-9, 2019

SIPA’s Digital & Cyber Group, in partnership with the Atlantic Council, hosted the fourth annual NYC Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. More than thirty student teams from policy, law, and undergraduate programs assessed the impact of a fictional widespread and major cyber-attack by a non-state adversary and considered policy responses for public and private sectors. Read more »

Launch of 'Mapping Data Flows' Project by John Battelle 

October 29, 2019

A Columbia University research team led by entrepreneur and SIPA senior research scholar John Battelle — comprising of SIPA and Columbia Journalism School students —developed an interactive site that helps users visualize and understand how large technology companies collect, use, and share user information across the internet. Read more »

Latvian President Eglis Levits Visits SIPA To Discuss Digital Technology

September 25, 2019

SIPA hosted an informal discussion with Egils Levits, the President of Latvia. Discussion with Professor Jason Healey, Alexis Wichowski and other experts at SIPA covered issues on the changing nature of technology, and how digitization affect security, society, privacy, and democracy. Read more »

Cyberspace Solarium Commission Staff Members Join SIPA Experts

September 10, 2019

SIPA hosted a closed discussion with several members of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a recently established bicameral, bipartisan, and intergovernmental body, for a high-level round table discussion with experts and adjunct faculty. The interactions such as these are intended to assist the Commission in its development of best strategies on the competing challenges presented in the field of cybersecurity. Read more »

Challenges of the Cyber World with Sean Roche

September 10, 2019

Co-sponsored with the SIWPS, Sean Roche spoke with students, discussing the analytic and technical work CIA officers undertake in support of the Agency's cyber mission. He also shared his assessment of current and future cyber challenges confronting the US, evolving US cyber strategy, and new technologies that may alter the cyber landscape. Read more »

Niejelow Rodin Global Digital Futures Forum

May 10, 2019

Now in its fifth year, the newly renamed Niejelow Rodin Global Digital Futures Forum (in light of support from the Niejelow/Rodin family), brought together leading scholars from across Columbia University, CEOs, senior policy makers, entrepreneurs, legal and policy experts, amongst others to discuss the broad challenges and opportunities created by the wide-ranging digital transformations occurring in the world today. The theme of the Forum was Navigating Digital Transformations: Survive or Thrive? Across a full day of panel discussions, fireside chats and keynote addresses, scholars and experts examined the growing impact of digital technology and data in critical areas such as speech, elections, regulation, artificial intelligence, cyber business risk management, and cybersecurity. Watch sessions and keynotes of the event here »

Developing a Defensible Cyber Strategy

December 6, 2018

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP hosted a discussion featuring keynote remarks by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Panelists included SIPA’s Jason Healey (moderator), Connie Brenton, C. Allen Parker, Joseph Shenker, and Phil Venables. The discussion explored internet governance policies, private-sector asset protection, and cyber incident response and innovations to defend cyberspace. Read more »

Bridging the Gap: Annual Workshop

November 29-30, 2018

SIPA partnered with the Cyber Conflict Studies Association and FireEye to host the annual Bridging the Gap workshop. This year’s event focused on topics in cyber conflict including persistent engagement and escalation, the evolving threat landscape, military cyber commands, and new trends and future challenges.

Transformation of Internet Business—The Role of Data, Tech, and Policy

November 8, 2018

John Battelle—the co-founding editor of Wired magazine and co-founder and CEO of NewCo—hosted a lunch discussion on the evolving journey of technology companies. He explored the role of data, technology, and public policy in driving the success of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple for students and faculty at SIPA, Columbia Business School, and Columbia Journalism School. Read more »

NYC Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

November 2-3, 2018

SIPA’s Digital & Cyber Group, in partnership with the Atlantic Council with sponsorship by Morgan Stanley, hosted its third annual NYC Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge. Twenty-eight student teams from policy, law, and undergraduate programs assessed the impact of a major cyber-attack and considered policy responses for public and private sectors. Read more »

Best Financial Criminals—Technology as the New Weapon

October 23, 2018

The Entrepreneurship & Policy Initiative hosted a panel where Kamil Kaluza MPA’06 and Neepa Patel discussed the impact of cyber-enabled financial crime on the global economy and technology-based tools to combat issues like money laundering, terrorist financing, and cyber-attacks.

Uptown Cyber Dialogue: Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar

October 17, 2018

SIPA hosted a dinner discussion with Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, Estonia’s cyber ambassador, focusing on the governance of cyber policy issues, global partnerships, and responses to cybersecurity issues.

Uptown Cyber Dialogue: Corey Doctorow

September 23, 2018

A dinner discussion with Corey Doctorow, a science-fiction novelist, blogger, and technology activist. The discussion focused on cyber policy issues and the internet’s role in civil society.

The Rise of the Rest—Entrepreneurship Across America

September 12, 2018

In this fireside-chat discussion, Steve Case, one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and business leaders, discussed his efforts to support entrepreneurship and technology in America through his “Rise of the Rest” initiative. Read more »



Global Digital Futures Workshop: Dynamics of Cyber Conflict

September 10, 2018

A workshop on the role of civil society in cyber conflict. Presenters included Lennart Maschmeyer (University of Toronto), Bill Marczak (University of California, Berkeley), and Masashi Crete-Nishita (University of Toronto). Read more »

State of the Field Workshop: Digital Transformation

June 15, 2018

The State of the Field Workshop on Digital Transformation examined selected policy issues of our digital age—including digital trade, antitrust, the platform economy, global governance, the internet of things—as well as policy issues related to digital currencies—such as digital identities, security and privacy, and elections and online advertising. Read more »

Field Workshop: Cyber Conflict

June 13, 2018

This year, workshops were separated into four main topic areas: cyber conflict history, legal and ethical issues, intelligence and adversaries, and strategic dynamics of international security.

Global Digital Futures Workshop: Power, Platforms, and the Economy

May 22, 2018

Global Digital Futures Workshop: Emotions and Surprise in Cyberspace

May 4, 2018



Internet of Things—Perspectives from National Planning in Brazil & China

April 23, 2018

SIPA held a workshop to explore how countries could design and implement national policies for the internet of things (IoT) to support the modernization of their industry and economy, based on the recent practical experiences from Brazil and China. Representatives from the government and the private sector involved in the implementation of the national plans from both countries joined Columbia University scholars to address various issues.

The Promise and Peril of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain

March 28, 2018

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and other blockchain technologies have increasingly fascinated economists, consumers, and trade organizations. What is in store for cryptocurrency in the future? What are the possible applications and limitations of blockchain technology? Yumiko Shimabukuro, acting director of the Urban and Social Policy concentration, welcomed expert panelists including Christian Van De Werken MPA ’17, a senior consultant at IBM; Mary Rich, VP of investment strategy for Goldman Sachs; and Paul Vigna, author of The Age of Cryptocurrency (Picador 2016).

Cybersecurity and Healthcare Information Systems

March 27, 2018

Increasingly, healthcare relies on devices connected to the internet and networks of patient data opening up the industry to become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. How do we leverage the advantages of Internet-of-Things and data for healthcare while keeping patients and healthcare systems secure? Speakers included Dr. Wilmot James (CUIMC), Jason Healey (SIPA), Brian Smith-Sweeney (CUMC), Suzanne Schwartz (FDA), and Beau Woods (Atlantic Council).

Global Digital Futures Workshop: Strategic Level of Cyber Conflict

March 16, 2018

The second Global Digital Futures Workshop focused on the strategic dimension of cyber conflict in the context of great power competition in cyberspace. Read more »

Tech & Society Speaker Series: Marietje Schaake

March 1, 2018

Marietje Schaake, a member of the European Parliament representing the Netherlands, joined Dean Merit E. Janow of SIPA to discuss the multi-faceted transatlantic relationship on digital issues. Read more » or watch event »

Global Digital Futures Workshop: Civil Society in Cyber Conflict

February 16, 2018

SIPA hosted the Global Digital Futures Workshop on civil society in cyber conflict. Researchers from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto and UC Berkeley came to present on the what the threats are, the frameworks there are to protect targets, and how to apply them. Read more »

Tech & Society Speaker Series: Bruce Schneier

February 8, 2018

The renowned technologist Bruce Schneier and Dean Merit E. Janow of SIPA discussed a wide range of security failures in tomorrow's connected world and the role of universities in producing the expertise needed to address them. Watch the conversation or read more »

State of the Panel: Net Neutrality

December 8, 2017

A panel of four experts discussed what the FCC’s expected repeal of the Open Internet Rules would mean for the Internet. Participants were Henning Schulzrinne, a professor of computer science at Columbia and a member of Data Science Institute; Vishal Misra, professor of computer science at Columbia (currently on leave at Google); Sarah Morris, director of open internet policy at the Open Technology Institute; and Peter Boothe, lead software engineer at the Measurement Lab (M-Lab) Project. The panel was moderated by Ethan Katz-Bassett, a professor of electrical engineering at Columbia, who is an expert on Internet services and content delivery, and by Brittney Gallagher, digital culture correspondent for Digital Village, a radio program in Los Angeles that covers the Internet.

Panel Discussion: Governing the Internet

November 27, 2017

A presentation by ICANN, co-hosted by ISOC-NY, on the highlights from the ICANN 60 public meeting and new developments in internet governance. You can watch the video of the event here.

Lunch Discussion: Matt Devlin of Uber

November 20, 2017

A discussion with Matt Delvin of Uber on the main benefits and drawbacks of ride-sharing for a city and described how Uber disrupted the taxi industry to the extent that some cities decided to ban it—a situation Uber is now working to avoid in the future. Tech & Society Speaker

Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

November 3-4, 2017

Columbia University hosted a national cyber policy competition known as the Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge designed to provide students across academic disciplines with a deeper understanding of the policy challenges associated with cyber crisis and conflict. Read more »

Building a Defensible Cyberspace: Report Launch

November 2, 2017

The New York Cyber Task Force released a report including recommendations on how to make it easier to defend cyberspace without sacrificing the utility, flexibility, and convenience that has made the internet so essential to our economies and personal lives. At the launch event, task force members discussed the report’s groundbreaking findings and recommendations for a more defensible cyberspace. Read more »

Lunch Discussion: Driverless Cities

November 2, 2017

Hod Lipson (Columbia) and Patrick Smith (NYC Department of Transportation) discussed how driverless vehicles would transform cities, their impact on urban planning, and the policy challenges that will arise.

Bridging the Gap: Annual Workshop

November 1-2, 2017

This year’s Bridging the Gap workshop focused on advancing theories of cyber conflict, continuing from last year’s goals of discussing best practices for research design and execution on cyber conflict, as well as professional development panels on related publication and fellowship opportunities.

Digital Economics Working Group

November 1, 2017

World Economic Forum a Digital Economics Working Group with the aspiration to contribute towards a consolidated evidence base on the impact of digital and emerging technologies on economic outcomes as a basis to shape policy.

Global Digital Futures Workshop: Information Warfare and Cyber Tactical Dynamics

October 31, 2017

Jason Healey and Robert Jervis of SIPA joined Herbert Lin of Stanford CISAC to host an afternoon workshop on Information Warfare and Cyber Tactical Dynamics.

Series: Silvio Gonzato

October 26, 2017

Silvio Gonzato and Yochai Benkler discussed countering modern misinformation and the EU experience.

Uptown Cyber Dialogue

October 23, 2017

Discussion with Karsten Geier, head of the Cyber Policy Coordination Staff in Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, focusing on the governance of cyber policy issues. Specifically, the group discussed the future of discussions around international norms in cyberspace after the UN Group of Governmental Experts in 2016-2017 failed to produce a consensus report.

Tech & Society Speaker Series: Julia Powles

September 20, 2017

Julia Powles spoke on Data Protection Beyond Privacy: Google DeepMind, Healthcare, and Algorithms. How can we promote data-driven healthcare while protecting the privacy of patients and the security of their data? Why else should policymakers care about data protection in an age of Artificial Intelligence? Read more »

Blockchain, cybersecurity, and encryption: The future of policymaking

April 20, 2017

The SIPA Tech & Policy Initiative hosted a panel discussion on encryption and the future of cybersecurity with Jason Healey (Senior Research Scholar, SIPA at Columbia University), Harsh Sinha (Vice President of Engineering, Transferwise), Brad Burnham (Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures) and Dr. Christopher Hooton (Chief Economist, Internet Association). Watch the event here »