Thursday, February 25th, 2021 – 1:00 PM PDT

The World Affairs Councils of Orange County Presents:

Emerging Technologies and Great Power Competition

Free Webinar with Dr. Melissa Griffith

Dr. Melissa K. Griffith is a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center  for Scholars; a Non-Resident Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center  for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC); and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown’s  Center for Security Studies (CSS). She works at the intersection between technology and  national security with a specialization in cybersecurity. 

Griffith’s current book project investigates how relatively small countries, with limited  resources, have become significant providers of national cyber-defense for their populations  alongside far larger states such as the U.S. Her work sheds important light on the components  and dynamics of cyber power and cyber conflict, as well as the vital role that public-private  cooperation and both security and economic policy play in cyber-defense. Concurrent research  projects examine (1) the security implications of 5G, (2) collective defense and resilience in  cyberspace, (3) emerging technologies and great power competition, and (4) smaller states and  power in international politics. 

Griffith holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley (2020); an  M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley (2014); and a B.A. in  International Relations from Agnes Scott College (2011). She was an English Teaching Assistant  in Taiwan with the Fulbright Program from 2012-2013.

Piret Pernik is a Researcher of Strategy Branch of the NATO CCDCOE. Her main research areas are cyber security strategies and policies, horizon scanning and analysis of cyber threats, and the development of military cyber organizations. She has worked as a researcher in cyber security since 2103 at the International Centre for Security and Defence, and the Estonian Academy of Social Sciences.

Her published work includes articles in peer-reviewed journals, policy analysis, commentaries, and research reports, and book chapters. Piret has published work about national defence, resiliency, election security, and cyber security and defence. She holds master degree in Social Theory from the University of Tallinn, Estonian Institute of Humanities, and in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University, Budapest.

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