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About the Expert
Expert Bio
Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security and director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports Innovation and National Security: Keeping Our Edge and Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet. His book The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age (PublicAffairs, 2016) describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He currently writes for the blog, “Net Politics.”
Before coming to CFR, Segal was an arms control analyst for the China Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists. There, he wrote about missile defense, nuclear weapons, and Asian security issues. He has been a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for International Studies, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has taught at Vassar College and Columbia University. Segal is the author of Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge (W.W. Norton, 2011) and Digital Dragon: High-Technology Enterprises in China (Cornell University Press, 2003), as well as several articles and book chapters on Chinese technology policy.
Segal has a BA and PhD in government from Cornell University, and an MA in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
Affiliations:
- Arceo Lab, advisor
- Columbia University, adjunct
- Cornell University, Reppy Institute of Conflict Studies, advisor
- Stanford University, affiliate
Current Projects
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Pelosi meets with TSMC chief; Facebook allows spread of misinformation in Kenya; Probe into police use of Pegasus ends; Hackers steal $190 million in cryptocurrency; U.S. and Ukraine announces greater cybersecurity cooperation.
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An update of the Council on Foreign Relations' Cyber Operations Tracker for the period between March and June 2022.
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New cybersecurity requirements for pipelines; U.S. and Saudi Arabia sign new agreement; CAC fines Didi $1.2 billion; FBI investigation into Huawei publicized; CHIPS Act passed by Senate.
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Tech companies accused of allowing Russian propaganda; Alibaba executives called in for questioning; DHS accused of misusing location data; House passes NDAA; China accused of hacking Belgian Ministry of Defense.
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The United States should take action in response to the fracturing internet. It should seek to create a new cyber coalition, promote and expand digital trade agreements, and support cyber development in emerging economies.
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Uber systematically broke laws during expansion; Myanmar deploys new surveillance systems; L3Harris drops bid for NSO Group; FTC pushes for privacy after Roe vs. Wade overturned; Twitter sues Elon Musk.
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The United States needs to improve its cybersecurity policy by preventing states from harboring cybercriminals, declaring norms against targeting financial and election systems, and expanding its use of defend forward operations.
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The era of the global internet has ended. The U.S. should pursue a new strategy in cyberspace by, creating a coalition of allies, balancing pressure with disruptive cyber operations, and improving cybersecurity policy.
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Chinese police files offered for sale; Canadian police detail spyware use; U.S. reveals new quantum-proof algorithms; EU passes new technology regulations; U.S. seeks to stop sale of equipment to China.
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Iranian Steel Mills Targeted in Cyberattack; Spyware Found in Italy and Kazakhstan; Italy Bans Google Analytics; Hackers Steal Over $100 Million in Cryptocurrency; New Chinese Disinformation Campaign Found.
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TikTok user data repeatedly accessed from China; China plans to increase social media censorship; U.S. law targeting forced labor goes into effect; Microsoft limits facial recognition sales; Cyberattack delays Putin's speech.
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Lawmakers seek to block U.S. investments in China; Ukraine moves sensitive data to other countries; L3Harris plans to buy NSO; Hacktivists release calls from Russian embassy; China accuses U.S. of stealing data.
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Senate committee proposes new privacy bill; China targets U.S. telecoms; FBI seizes dark web marketplace; Senators propose new cryptocurrency regulations; China signs data cooperation agreement.
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Supreme Court blocks Texas social media law; Chinese threat actors exploit zero-day; U.S. confirms it conducted offensive cyber operations against Russia; Russia halts REvil prosecution; ByteDance returns to India.
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An update of the Council on Foreign Relations' Cyber Operations Tracker for the period between January and March 2022.
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Clearview AI fined by UK; Quad announces cybersecurity initiatives; Russian social media manipulation tool exposed; Twitter fined $150 million by FTC; China pursues deal with Pacific island nations.
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An update of the Council on Foreign Relations' Cyber Operations Tracker for the period between October and December 2021.
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Biden plans limits on foreign data transfers; Chinese hackers target Russian defense sector; EU proposes scanning end to end encryption; U.S. will not prosecute "good faith" hackers; China pledges support for digital economy.
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Costa Rica declares emergency after ransomware attack; U.S. sanctions cryptocurrency mixer; U.K. sanctions Russian chip makers; China aims to remove U.S. computers from government; Clearview AI stops sales to private sectors.
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Spyware found on Spanish PM's phone; U.S. says China is amplifying Russian disinformation; FBI searches of American's data have doubled; U.S. may sanction Hikvision; Cyber Command completed nine hunt forward operations in 2022.
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Musk buys Twitter; EU nears passage of Digital Services Act; Chinese chipmaker may have breached U.S. export controls; North Korea hacks journalists; Biden calls for new internet rules.
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Pegasus spyware detected in PM Boris Johnson's office; Spyware targets Catalan separatists; NATO to conduct Locked Shields exercise; Lazarus Group steals $600 million in cryptocurrency; REvil returns.
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Russia targets Ukrainian power grid; India foils Chinese cyberattack; EU officials targeted with spyware; Hackers use Conti ransomware in Russia; New industrial control system malware discovered.
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State Department launches new cyber bureau; Controversy over FBI social media surveillance; Clearview AI seeks new clients; U.S. and allies disrupt Sandworm botnet; Microsoft stops series of Russian cyberattacks.