Long-Term Implications: Digital Safety Prospectives over the Decade
Digging into the wild frontier of digital security, the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) has been making waves since its 2014 inception. We're taking a look at their flagship project, Cybersecurity Futures – a collection of scenarios-based initiatives that dance around the question of how the future might unfurl.
Its origins birth from a bold proposal by Steve Weber, a political science professor at UC Berkeley's School of Information. Weber, along with his team, pitched cybersecurity as a burning issue that demanded interdisciplinary thinking. They approached the Hewlett Foundation's brand new Cybersecurity Initiative, a program ambitiously paving the way for philanthropy-driven digital security solutions.
Weber's proposal highlighted the value of long-term thinking in a rapidly evolving field. Eager to move beyond knee-jerk responses to yesterday's attacks, the center sought to create a research agenda that blazed a trail forward. Grounded in the art of scenario planning, a decades-old methodology employed by businesses and governments alike, the initiative aimed to create robust and adaptable strategies for future decision-makers.
Fast-forward to 2016, and CLTC launched its first wave of cybersecurity predictions, Cybersecurity Futures 2020. This comprehensive report dived deep into a variety of far-flung possibilities, such as the consequences of widespread behavior-predicting algorithms or the transformations wrought by networked vehicles.
In 2017, CLTC teamed up with the CNA Institute for Public Research and the World Economic Forum's Global Centre for Cybersecurity for a second round of predictions, Cybersecurity Futures 2025. Sponsored by some heavy hitters, including HP, Inc., Qualcomm, CyberCube, and Symantec, this project aimed to provide practical and globally applicable insights for companies and policymakers alike.
Coming soon to the horizon is Cybersecurity Futures 2030: New Foundations. Debuted in 2022, this project is focusing on exploring the trade-offs in values and goals that decision-makers will grapple with as they steer us toward the future.
Throughout its history, CLTC has used "postmortems" – analyses reflecting on past scenarios – to refine their methods, learn from their mistakes, and anticipate the fast-approaching future.
So buckle up, folks. The future is almost here.
- The Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) at UC Berkeley, through its flagship project Cybersecurity Futures, aims to create adaptable strategies for future decision-makers using long-term thinking and scenario planning.
- Steve Weber, a political science professor at UC Berkeley's School of Information, proposed the Cybersecurity Futures initiative to the Hewlett Foundation's Cybersecurity Initiative, fostering a collaboration between academia and philanthropy for digital security solutions.
- In 2016, CLTC launched its first major cybersecurity prediction report, Cybersecurity Futures 2020, examining various possibilities for the future, including those arising from behavior-predicting algorithms and networked vehicles.
- In 2017, CLTC partnered with the CNA Institute for Public Research and the World Economic Forum's Global Centre for Cybersecurity for Cybersecurity Futures 2025, delivering practical and globally applicable insights for companies and policymakers from a diverse set of sponsors.
- Cybersecurity Futures 2030: New Foundations, set to debut in 2022, will explore the values and goals trade-offs that decision-makers will face as they navigate toward the future in the fields of technology, artificial-intelligence, cybersecurity, the internet, privacy, and society.
- By analyzing past scenarios through "postmortems," CLTC seeks to refine its methods, learn from its mistakes, and anticipate the future, ensuring a more secure digital landscape for students, societies, and the world.
- As we journey closer to the future, it's essential for decision-makers in technology, cybersecurity, and policy fields to consider the long-term implications of their actions, ultimately shaping the digital landscape for the benefit of our students and society at large.
