Divisions

Associate Academic Fellow Khatuna Mshvidobadze, MBA, is a Fellow of the Potomac Institute Cyber Center.  A native of Georgia, Ms. Mshvidobadze is currently working on a major project researching the role of Russian social media in Russian politics and elections.  In a new PICC paper, she writes about Russian Internet restrictions imposed in the name of public safety.  Actions to curb freedom of expression online, she writes, are disturbing to many Russians, who "believe that the new law will help build a Russian equivalent of the Great Firewall of China."  Click on the attachment to read the paper in full.

RDML Jamie Barnett, USNR (Ret.), is Senior Vice President of Academic Programs and Research at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.  In a new paper he calls attention to the problem of supply-chain insecurity in the telecommunications industry, which poses a potential threat to us all.  RDML Barnett recently (2009-2012) served as Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Click below to read the paper in full.

Potomac Institute Cyber Center Director Amb. David Smith, (Ret.), writes in an August 2012 PICC paper that although Russia's cyber espionage tactics have been overshadowed in recent years by China's, the risk is too big to ignore.  Indeed, the fact that Russian threats are less often reported may be proof in and of itself that Russia is more dangerous - because its operatives are more adept at avoiding detection. Click below to read the paper in full.

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow Amb. David Smith (Ret.) is the Director of the Potomac Institute Cyber Center.  He is an expert on Russia and previously served as lead negotiator in the US – Soviet Defense and Space Talks.  In an interview with Federal News Radio's Francis Rose, Amb. Smith talked about the Russian cyber threat and the degree to which it has remained "under the radar" here in the US.  Amb. Smith maintains that although the threat does not get as much publicity as those emanating from China, cyber espionage and attack are integral parts of Russia's defense infrastructure.  Click here and scroll down on the Federal News Radio website to listen to the interview in full.

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow Amb. David Smith (Ret.) is the Director of the Potomac Institute Cyber Center.  In a wide-ranging interview with AOL Defense, he talked about compromise cyber security legislation on Capitol Hill, and the security threat posed by Russia and China. Says Smith, "We're talking about a systematic effort to equalize the technology edge that the United States enjoys over every other country in the world by stealing US intellectual property.... This is strategic." Click here to read the article in full.