McCrary Institute for Cyber & Critical Infrastructure Security
Harnessing America’s cyber experts to safeguard our nation.
Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security seeks practical solutions to real-world problems, underpinned by research and scholarship. Founded in 2015 through a generous donation from the Alabama Power Foundation in honor of its retiring CEO and Auburn alumnus Charles D. McCrary, the Institute fuses theory with practice, and policy with technology, to protect and advance U.S. interests in the areas of cyber and critical infrastructure security.
The McCrary Institute is a nonpartisan think tank located at Auburn University, and is the leading group of public/private sector cyber experts providing unique end-to-end cyber capabilities from R&D, cybersecurity education/training, policy-relevant analysis, to future technology research.
As a top-tier research university, designated a Carnegie R1 institution, over 200 of Auburn’s on-campus faculty members conduct defense, cyber, and homeland security research for the Department of Defense, NASA, and other federal agencies.
Cyber Focus Podcast
In this episode of Cyber Focus, host Frank Cilluffo sits down with Tanel Sepp, Estonia’s Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy. They explore how Estonia emerged as a cyber superpower despite its small size, the significance of the Tallinn Mechanism in cyber defense, and the evolving role of cyber in warfare. Tanel shares personal insights from his extensive diplomatic career and discusses the lessons learned from Estonia’s experiences and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Main Topics:
- Estonia’s Rise as a Cyber Superpower
- The Tallinn Mechanism: Origins and Implementation
- Role of Cyber in Modern Warfare
- The Future of Cyber Defense and International Cooperation
Key Quotes:
“We are [a] leading nation in terms of the e-services, e-governance and the penetration of the services amongst the population.” - Tanel Sepp
"The Tallinn Mechanism has truly become one and unique channel for cyber assistance for Ukraine." - Tanel Sepp
“The time to be thinking about this is not when the bomb goes off, not in the midst of a crisis. It's well before.” - Frank Cilluffo
"One of the main conclusions or kind of initial lessons identified from [the war in Ukraine] is that physical war still matters. Cyber has had a major role. And I believe that's that, for the first time, cyber has been fully integrated into military activity.” – Tanel Sepp
" Cyber security now has also gained physical dimension because at the beginning of this war, you also had Russians targeting Ukrainian data centers kinetically. So you also need to really think about physical security” - Tanel Sepp
“This war is showing a kind of tectonic change in terms of engaging with the private sector and the role of private sector.” - Tanel Sepp
Tanel Sepp is Estonia’s Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy. With a career spanning multiple diplomatic posts including the United States, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia, he has led cyber policy efforts at Estonia’s Ministry of Defense and played a key role in the development of the Tallinn Mechanism. Tanel is a leading voice in international cyber defense and digital diplomacy.
Relevant Links and Resources:
In this episode Frank Cilluffo engages with two distinguished former intelligence officials, Teresa Shea and Glenn Gaffney, to dissect the multifaceted world of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of cybersecurity and intelligence gathering. They delve into the definitions, applications, and implications of AI, focusing on its role in enhancing security measures against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Main Topics
- Definitions and distinctions between General AI, Generative AI, and specific AI applications
- The evolution and current state of AI in cybersecurity and intelligence gathering
- The human element in AI development and application
- Ethical considerations and the need for a human-centric approach in AI deployment
- Public-private partnerships and their role in advancing AI technology in critical sectors
Key Quotes
"General AI, we're really talking about a cyber brain, a bit of silicon, or a machine that creatively thinks and acts the way a brain acts and thinks." - Glenn Gaffney
"The human in the loop will always be relevant." - Frank Cilluffo
"Not everything you get back from these AI generating machines is accurate. So be sure and check the facts." - Teresa Shea
"Cybersecurity in particular is one of the areas that I feel like we need to apply AI first and foremost because of the sheer level of complexity and speed that is at hand in all of the networks that we have.” - Glenn Gaffney
"I think there's a real role for the intelligence community to play in the open world and in these public-private partnerships, because so many of these things used to be the purview of nation-states and nation-states. They're not anymore." - Glenn Gaffney
“Let's not underestimate our adversaries either in the amounts of money, in resources, for example, that China is pouring into AI. The way they're working together with China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. Let's not underestimate their partnerships and what they get when they combine.” - Teresa Shea
“We need to be able to fail and you fail fast and you recover faster.” - Teresa Shea
Guest Bios
Teresa Shea: Former Director of Signals Intelligence at the National Security Agency, with extensive experience at In-Q-Tel. Shea is celebrated for her contributions to national security and intelligence, boasting numerous presidential and intelligence awards.
Glenn Gaffney: Former Director of Science and Technology at the Central Intelligence Agency, also a recipient of multiple intelligence and presidential awards. Gaffney's career has been marked by his innovative approach to technology and security, particularly in the development and application of AI in intelligence operations.
Resources
- IEEE Introduces New Program for Free Access to AI Ethics and Governance Standards
- EU’s Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI
- NSF Artificial Intelligence
- NSF Advancing education for the future AI workforce (EducateAI)
- U.S. Senate: Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence
- The UN norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace
- Role and responsibilities of a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer in the government sector.
- Insights into Project Fortress and its objectives for proactive cybersecurity defense.
- The impact and implications of AI on cybersecurity practices.
- Challenges and strategies for small financial institutions in adopting cloud and AI technologies.
- The Treasury's collaborative efforts with other federal agencies and the private sector to enhance cybersecurity resilience.
- Initiatives to leverage international partnerships to combat cyber threats globally.
- "We're trying to get the body of work that we published on cloud and AI... out to a broader cybersecurity audience." - Todd Conklin
- "You cannot do cyber today without an appreciation for artificial intelligence." - Frank Cilluffo
- "The financial services sector being a place of innovation... and Treasury being a place of innovation is a surprise to a lot of people." - Todd Conklin
- "We've been leading a thorough incident response analysis and that small entity had an outsized impact..." - Todd Conklin
- "We need to automate the flow of intelligence from the US government to the sector defense operators." - Todd Conklin
- "The Treasury model is to ensure that the sector has the ability to help us curate what those priorities should be." - Todd Conklin
- Department of Treasury Website
- Managing Artificial Intelligence-Specific Cybersecurity Risks in the Financial Services Sector Report
- The Financial Services Sector’s Adoption of Cloud Services U.S. Department of the Treasury Report
- Project Fortress
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Cyber Hygiene tool
- 2023 Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report
- G7 Cyber Expert Group
- Financial Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center
- Building a Cyber Insurance Backstop Is Harder Than It Sounds
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Applied Research, Development, & Commercialization
The McCrary Institute’s experts work to safeguard America as an applied research, development, and commercialization partner supporting government, military, national labs and industry clients. We focus our work on critical infrastructure sectors including energy & water, space & defense, transportation, rural industries, and more. By leveraging a world class Southeast Cybersecurity Operations Center and classified labs, we help solve some of America’s greatest threats and challenges.
Research Focus