A Resilient Cyber Policy for the Indo-Pacific

Speakers: Dr. Brandon Williams (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

Date: 21 September 2021

Speaker Session Summary

SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Brandon Kirk Williams (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), as part of its SMA STRATCOM Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure Speaker Series.

When deciding how to best confront China’s regional cyber capabilities, the US should first assess the state of the Indo-Pacific cyber threat and its allies’ capabilities to protect themselves, stressing resilience and communication. Dr. Williams emphasized that the US should prioritize building allies’ and partners’ cyber capacities by: a) tailoring cyber solutions, b) mobilizing aid and development finance, and c) incentivizing the private sector to assist allies and partners, especially developing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states. If ASEAN countries grow economically and industrially, then they will become more capable of financing the growth, development, and training needed for expanding their cyber capacity. Furthermore, while all countries want to increase their cyber capabilities, not all countries want to conduct aggressive cyber operations against China or other states. Because of this, cooperative efforts between the US and Indo-Pacific countries should focus on strengthening their defensive capabilities and creating a regional dialogue relating to strengthening all regional countries—both economically and in their cyber capabilities. While US leadership is key, US allies will need to take some initiative to champion efforts in regional economic and cyber forums. Ultimately, by increasing the diplomatic dialogue between the US, Indo-Pacific allies, and ASEAN states, the US and its allies can build a stronger and more united front against an increasingly strong Chinese cyber presence.

China is closing the gap with the United States’ overall cyber capabilities and has increased its use of cyber-attacks and hacking to realize this objective. However, the US is still the global leader in the cyber realm, and there are many cooperative initiatives the US can pursue with its allies in the Indo-Pacific to hinder China’s regional cyber capabilities. China’s first major hurdle to becoming a “cyber-superpower” is its inability to fulfill its own domestic cyber needs, even if its primary goal is achievable in the long-term. Dr. Williams commented that Indo-Pacific allies can also play a significant role in lessoning China’s ability to act out aggressively with its cyber capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. Traditional Indo-Pacific allies can hinder China’s ability to use cyber operations above and below the threshold of kinetic warfare if they can present a united front adhering to a cohesive cyber Indo-Pacific strategy. Also, as a global leader in cyber capabilities, the US should look to fill a leadership role in the regional competition with China while strengthening allies and ASEAN states to defend themselves.

Speaker Session Recording

This session was not recorded at the request of our speaker.

Briefing Materials

Biography:

Dr. Brandon Kirk Williams is a post-doctoral research fellow focusing on cybersecurity at the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Brandon’s research at CGSR encompasses cybersecurity, Indo-Pacific strategy, public-private partnerships, and emerging technologies. He is also an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. Prior to joining CGSR, he earned a PhD in US diplomatic history at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a Fulbright-Hays grantee for Indonesia, 2017-2018. During his PhD studies, he worked as a research associate at the RAND Corporation and Illumio, a cybersecurity firm. He tweets @bkwilliamscyb.

This speaker session supported SMA’s Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure project. For additional speaker sessions and project publications, please visit the Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure project page.