The Radcliffe Institute, in coordination with faculty from Harvard Law School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, brought together experts from across the University to discuss issues related to cybersecurity. Sessions sought to surface and clarify some of the central definitional, legal, technical and policy questions; identify efforts already underway at Harvard surrounding these issues; develop a working issues map for research and collaboration within the University, between the University and industry and between the University and government; and identify central conceptual issues for longer-term research and discussion.

The goal was to identify concrete opportunities and mechanisms through which to bring together varied expertise and people scattered throughout the University, taking stock of current scholarly efforts, discussing ongoing and future research, and designing new educational and research channels that could contribute to addressing these issues.

In addition to mapping the current Harvard landscape regarding cybersecurity, we attempted to identify top cybersecurity challenges and the open legal, technical and policy questions that characterize them. Participants were asked to consider how Harvard research efforts might be focused towards grappling with these issues and where the gaps might be. Where were the opportunities for faculty and students here at Harvard regarding these issues? How were we uniquely positioned to make a useful contribution to current debates regarding these issues? Next steps and tangible outcomes will include discussion of possible collaborative educational/research models and pathways to channel research into policy circles.