Cyber Risks and Vulnerabilities

The purpose of this course is to familiarize SIPA students with the function of the internet while focusing on the flaws and vulnerabilities that can be exploited in attacks or impact user privacy. This course will approach each session in the following manner: discussion of recent cyber events, discussion topic(s) to be covered, and the ramifications when used in the real world. This course is intended to build on the Basics of Cybersecurity with a tighter focus on specific vulnerabilities and information transmission and how these can be exploited by hackers, criminals, spies, militaries, or business interests. This course is intended to be an introduction to cyber risk and vulnerabilities and is thus suitable for complete newcomers to the area. It is a big field, with a lot to cover; however, this should get students familiar with all of the basics. The class is divided into weekly topics; the first five iteratively build on each other, and the others either addressing recent technologies or hosting relevant guest speakers. Many cyber jobs are opening up with companies that need international affairs analysts who, while not cybersecurity experts, understand the topic well enough to write policy recommendations or intelligence briefs. Even if you don’t intend your career to focus on cyber issues, having some exposure will deepen your understanding of the dynamics of many other international, privacy, and public policy issues.