Transatlantic Cyber Forum

Cyber security and defense policies increasingly gain importance and momentum worldwide. Issues, such as the regulation of state surveillance, encryption policy and vulnerability exploitation, implications of emerging technologies, cooperation and coordination in the information security realm as well as offensive cyber operations, have implications for the domestic and international spheres alike. Those are global challenges which cannot adequately be addressed from a singular nation-state perspective. It is therefore prudent to learn from each other and develop smart and pragmatic solutions together. The United States as the global technology leader and Germany as a central stakeholder of the European Union with a distinct security and privacy culture and mindset play a major role in providing answers to those challenges.

To further research in the area of international cyber security policies and provide concrete policy recommendations, the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV) established The Transatlantic Cyber Forum (TCF) in January 2017. TCF was founded with the financial support of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It is currently funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

TCF is an intersectoral network and currently consists of more than 150 experts from civil society, academia and private sector working in various areas of transatlantic cyber security policy. Between 2017 and 2018 the network's focus was on government hacking, vulnerability assessment and management, securing elections and technological innovation for intelligence oversight. In 2019 and 2020 the network worked in the topic "Cybersecurity of Artificial Intelligence". The work was conducted by working groups with 30-50 experts each through online and face-to-face workshops in Berlin and Washington D.C., and through online collaboration.

 

Working Group: Active Cyber Defense

The 2021 expert working group led by Dr. Sven Herpig focused on "active cyber defense". This covered the definition of the term, the technical foundation of the various associated instruments, and connected the technical perspective to the policy level, as well as embeds it into strategies such as “persistent engagement”. The working group continues in January 2023 and currently consists of:​

Dave Aitel Founder of Immunity
Charles-Pierre Astolfi  
Manuel Atug HiSolutions
Caroline Baylon AXA
Ralf Benzmüller G DATA SecurityLabs
Sneha Dawda Royal United Services Institute
Lars Fischer University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven
Stefanie Frey Deutor Cyber Security Solutions
Kenneth Geers NATO Cyber Centre
Max Heinemeyer Darktrace
Wyatt Hoffman Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Frederike Kaltheuner New Possible
Karsten König Secfault Security
Lucie Krahulcova Digital Rights Watch
Andreas Kuehn Observer Research Foundation America
Joanna Kulesza University of Lodz
Thomas Lawson AXA
Jim Lewis Center for Strategic and International Studies
Nemanja Malisevic Microsoft
Louise Marie Hurel London School of Economics and Political Science (PhD Researcher)
Igor Mikolic-Torreira Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Greg Nojeim Center for Democracy and Technology
Lukasz Olejnik Independent Researcher
Alexandra Paulus Chemnitz University of Technology (PhD Researcher)
Pavlina Pavlova Cyber Peace Institute
Jörg Pohle Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
Johanna Polle Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (PhD Researcher)
Thomas Reinhold Technical University of Darmstadt (PhD Researcher)
Volker Roth FU Berlin
Christine Runnegar Internet Society
Janine Schmoldt University of Erfurt (PhD Researcher)
Emma Schroeder Atlantic Council
Matthias Schulze German Institute for International and Security Affairs
Ari Schwartz Cybersecurity Coalition
Aleksandra Sowa Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI), FG PET
Nathalie Van Raemdonck Vrije University Brussels (PhD Researcher)
Eric Veith OFFIS
Eric Wenger Cisco Systems

     

     

    Working Group: International Deployment of Governmental Incident Response Teams

    A second working group led by Julia Schuetze focuses in 2022 on "international deployment of governmental incident response teams". This covers the definition of what constitutes an international deployment, the possible set-up(s) of such teams, capabilities and an analysis of political and legal implications. The working group currently consists of:

    Nick Beecroft Carnegie Cyber Policy Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    Enrico Calandro Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa
    Madeline Carr Dept of Computer Science Faculty of Engineering Science, University College London
    Eglė Daukšienė Ministry of National Defence Lithuania
    Kenneth Geers NATO Cyber Centre 
    Louise Marie Hurel Department of Media and Communications London School of Economics and Political Science (PhD Researcher)
    Carolin Kemper Deutsches Forschungsinstitut für Öffentliche Verwaltung 
    Koichiro Komiyama JPCERT/CC
    Andreas Kuehn Observer Research Foundation America
    Joanna Kulesza University of Lodz
    Rolf Lion Zentrum für Cyber-Sicherheit der Bundeswehr
    Christoph Lobmeyer Incident Response Expert
    Christian Marxsen Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg
    Christine Runnegar Internet Society
    Thomas Schreck Munich University of Applied Sciences (Professor)
    Janine Schmoldt Lehrstuhl für Internationale Beziehungen der Universität Erfurt
    Ivana Stradner American Enterprise Institute Igor Mikolic-Torreira, Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgtown University
    Leonie Tanczer Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London’s (UCL)

     

     

    Working Group: Government's Role in increasing IT-Security of Open-Source Software

    From 2022 to 2023 this working group will work on the government's role in increasing IT-security of open-source software. It will inter alia focus on requires resources, responsible actors, possible policy instruments and aims to provide a blueprint for how government's could engage in the space. The working group currently consists of:

    Charles-Pierre     Astolfi    
    Lola Attenberger   ZEISS SMT
    Manuel  Atug AG KRITIS
    William       Bartholomew   Microsoft
    Ralf  Benzmüller G DATA 
    Zoë Brammer Institute for Security + Technology
    Gregor Bransky  
    Jack Cable Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
    Isabel   Drost-Fromm Europace AG
    Lars   Fischer University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven
    Kenneth Geers  NATO Cyber Centre
    Ernst     Härtl   digital4tress
    Antonia     Hmaidi    MERICS
    Michael     Hsieh Center for International Security and Cooperation, University of Stanford
    Danilo Kampe D-Trust
    Caroline    Krohn AG Nachhaltige Digitalisierung [Sustainable Digitisation]
    Andreas    Kühn Observer Research Foundation America
    Thomas     Lawson AXA Group
    Eugenia   Lostri Lawfare Institute
    Jamie       MacColl   Royal United Services Institute
    Daniel    Moßbrucker     University of Hamburg (PhD Researcher)
    Astor Nummelin Carlberg OpenForum Europe
    Alexandra     Paulus Stiftung Neue Verantwortung
    Jörg  Pohle Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
    Volker     Roth Freie Universität Berlin
    Christine     Runnegar     Internet Society
    Alexander      Sander Free Software Foundation Europe
    Janine     Schmoldt   University of Erfurt
    Stewart Scott  Atlantic Council
    Seyffarth Miriam  Open Source Business Alliance
    Chinmayi   Sharma   Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, University of Texas
    Megan     Stifel Institute for Security + Technology
    Tara     Tarakiyee     Sovereign Tech Fund
    Frank     Termer BITKOM
    Christopher       Weatherhead   Privacy International
    Lilith     Wittmann   

     

     

      The following publications have been supported by the Transatlantic Cyber Forum:


      In addition to the publications, the TCF project team at SNV provides the expert network with short updates (called "policy debates") which identify and discuss German cyber security policy developments.

      The TCF project team regularly engages in events and presentations including the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, the European Parliament and the German Bundestag and is cited in national and international media including leading German media outlets as well as for example the New York Times and the Washington Post.