Cyber Focus

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Cyber Focus, from the McCrary Institute, explores the people and ideas that shape and protect our digital world. Each week our host, Frank Cilluffo, speaks with the leading voices in cybersecurity, and brings to light what steps public and private organizations need to be taking to keep our country secure.

6 DAYS AGO · VIDEO

How Apple's iPhone Supply Chain Built China into a Manufacturing Superpower with Patrick McGee

Supply chains are essential infrastructure—and the iPhone's supply chain sits at the center of U.S.–China competition. As Washington reassesses economic security, this episode explores what it looks like when market incentives collide with geopolitical reality. Frank Cilluffo speaks with Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China, about his reporting on Apple's deep manufacturing reliance on China—and what that reveals about leverage, resilience, and risk. They explore how industrial capacity is built through repetition, why diversification is harder than headlines suggest, and how concentrated production creates choke points that can ripple far beyond consumer tech. The result is a clear, practical case study in why supply chains matter for critical infrastructure, national security, and long-term competition. Main Topics Covered How "learning by doing" powered China's rise in high-end electronics manufacturing The "epic transfer of technology" behind Apple's scale and China's supply-chain competence Xi Jinping's post-2013 pressure campaign and Apple's strategic recalibration in China Why supply-chain diversification is slower than headlines suggest, especially in India The "red supply chain" and how Apple suppliers became capability multipliers Taiwan/TSMC as a single-point-of-failure risk—and the AI chip-export debate it echoes Key Quotes "China isn't dependent on Apple in the way that Apple is inarguably dependent on China. My big worry in a certain sense is that the student has become the master." — Patrick McGee "If you just take the $55 billion that they invested in 2015 alone, which was 22% of revenue … and just go from let's say the birth of the iPhone 2007–2025, you're talking about a trillion dollars that Apple's invested in China." — Patrick McGee "None of those phones are really being made in India, they're just being assembled there. The joke that one manufacturing design engineer told me was that the phones are assembled in China, disassembled in China and sent to India for reassembly." — Patrick McGee "Our narrative is essentially that Apple exploits Chinese workers. In a certain sense, that's the only narrative about Apple in China we've had in the past two decades. And I flip that on its head…[China is] getting more out of the relationship. It's a story about China exploiting Apple. — Patrick McGee "I think there still is a mindset that China is an imitator, not an innovator. I think we should recognize that… is not the case." — Frank Cilluffo Relevant Links and Resources Apple in China (Patrick McGee's book) McCrary Institute' Code Red report on "Typhoon" threat actors (Vault/Salt/Flax) Anthropic's Dario Amodei's essay: "The Adolescence of Technology" Guest Bio Patrick McGee is a Financial Times journalist and the author of Apple in China, covering geopolitics, technology, and global supply chains.

42 min
27 JAN · VIDEO

AI, Critical Infrastructure, and Cascading Failures with Madison Horn

Madison Horn joins host Frank Cilluffo to explain why AI-driven cyber risk may be quieter, faster, and harder to spot in 2026. She breaks down "cascading failures" in critical infrastructure—and how a disruption in one sector can quickly ripple into others. The conversation zeroes in on AI agents, especially their ability to create new user accounts, get access to systems, and hide inside everyday routine activity. Horn also warns that AI supply chain weaknesses could spread faster than traditional zero-days. Main Topics Covered Why AI-enabled attacks may look like normal business activity. Cascading failures across water, power, telecom, and healthcare systems. AI agents creating identities and operating with "human-like" access. Why "AI supply chain" risk could eclipse zero-day exploits. "Slow and steady" AI adoption for critical infrastructure operators. Why quantum planning should happen alongside today's AI rollouts. Key Quotes "Within critical infrastructure… water needs electricity, electricity needs telcos, and healthcare needs all three." —Madison Horn "Hackers are lazy. And I mean that not to be offensive, but if you can reach your objective, reaching the lowest hanging fruit, then you're going to." —Madison Horn "Attacks are not going to look as restricting and as loud. I think it's going to look just like business as normal until we see [impacts] in the physical world." — Madison Horn "What I worry about is people assuming and trusting that an AI tool is doing what it's supposed to and not necessarily understanding or being able to detect that it's doing something malicious." — Madison Horn "I just don't want quantum to get lost into the AI conversation." — Madison Horn Relevant Links and Resources Madison Horn's 2026 predictions (Nextgov) About the Guest Madison Horn is the national security and critical infrastructure chief advisor at World Wide Technology, with 15+ years leading cyber strategy and incident response in high-consequence, regulated environments. She previously held senior roles at Siemens Energy, PwC, and Accenture Security, and founded Roserock Advisory Group focused on cybersecurity and geopolitics.

39 min
20 JAN · VIDEO

Cyber Leadership, Workforce Morale, and the House Email Breach with Nextgov's David DiMolfetta

CISA leadership, NSA/Cyber Command staffing, and offensive cyber operations are colliding early in 2026. Frank Cilluffo and reporter David DiMolfetta unpack Sean Plankey's renomination for CISA Director, and what a prolonged leadership vacuum can mean for agency direction and momentum. They then turn to Lt. Gen. Rudd's confirmation hearing and the evolving debate over the Title 10/Title 50 "dual hat." The conversation also examines morale and workforce pressures inside NSA, including reported staffing reductions. It closes with "Absolute Resolve," what public discussion of cyber "effects" might signal for deterrence, and a China-linked House staff email breach that frames what Molfetta is watching next. Main Topics Covered What Sean Plankey's CISA renomination signals about cyber leadership priorities. Why "core mission" talk at CISA still depends on who's in charge. Lt. Gen. Rudd's hearing, and how the dual-hat debate is evolving. NSA morale and workforce cuts, and what that means for capability. "Absolute Resolve," cyber effects, and the deterrence value of public signaling. House staff email targeting, Salt Typhoon questions, and the midterms-AI threat mix. Key Quotes "Cisa's work does not stop. That said, if you don't have a permanent leader in place, you don't have a guy to set direction, and things can't really go anywhere." — David DiMolfetta "When you don't have people at their desks [because of workforce reductions], that means they may not be tracking adversaries, they may not be doing that work to cultivate relationships with sources on a kind of human intelligence style level. — David DiMolfetta "[In Venezuela] lights went off, but they also went back on." — David DiMolfetta "Authority, accountability, and resources — I found those to be the three criteria to get things done in D.C." — Frank Cilluffo Relevant Links and Resources David DiMolfetta's stories at Nextgov.com Guest Bio: David DiMolfetta covers cybersecurity for Nextgov. Previously, he researched The Cybersecurity 202 and The Technology 202 newsletters at The Washington Post and covered AI, cybersecurity and technology policy for S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a BBA from The George Washington University and an MS from Georgetown University.

33 min
13 JAN · VIDEO

The Hammer and the Anvil: Offensive Cyber Strategy with Chris Inglis

Chris Inglis joins Frank Cilluffo to break down what offensive cyber strategy should look like in an era of strategic competition. Drawing from the McCrary Institute's new report on U.S. cyber policy, Inglis argues that resilience and consequences are not competing theories—they have to work together. He explains why "defend forward" and persistent engagement reshaped authorities and expectations after 2018, including how NSPM-13 changed delegation for operations. The conversation also tackles the messy seam between Title 10 and Title 50 in cyberspace, and why integration—not exquisite tools—will decide whether cyber power is truly strategic. Main Topics Covered Why offense and resilience must operate as one integrated cyber strategy Cyber deterrence as changing an adversary's decision calculus, not perfection How NSPM-13 helped shift delegation and operational tempo in 2018 What "defend forward" means in plain terms—and why it's defensive Blurring of Title 10 and Title 50 in cyberspace—and why that matters The warning: the U.S. is behind on integrating cyber with power Key Quotes "My view is that the discussion of whether it's going to be a focus on defense kind of inherent resilience or a focus on imposing consequences is a false choice." — Chris Inglis "But when you get to cyberspace, it turns out that the Title 50, which is trying to get information from cyberspace, and the Title 10, which is trying to actually achieve effects in cyberspace, are about 90% the same." — Chris Inglis "[With defend forward] We're not going to wait onshore for [malicious cyber activity] to arrive and then kind of cede the initiative to adversaries." — Chris Inglis "What keeps me awake at night? We don't have time. We're way behind the curve." — Chris Inglis Relevant Links and Resources McCrary Institute report — U.S. Cyber Policy: Offense, Deterrence, and Strategic Competition Guest Bio Chris Inglis is the former U.S. National Cyber Director and former NSA Deputy Director, with decades of experience in national security and cyber policy.

33 min
6 JAN · VIDEO

Are We Ready for 2026? Top Cyber Predictions on Policy, Tech, and Threats

Cyber Focus kicks off 2026 (and its 100th new episode) with rapid-fire predictions from McCrary Institute senior fellows. They flag big policy inflection points—especially whether Congress can reauthorize "CISA 2015," sustain information-sharing protections, and keep state and local cybersecurity funding on track. Tech-wise, the group focuses on AI's accelerating integration, the "speed" divide between defenders and adversaries, and emerging pressures across connectivity and infrastructure. On threats, they warn about deepfake-driven social engineering, ransomware that's getting faster and more accessible, "typhoon" intrusions, and the compounding risk of encryption and security tech debt. Main Topics Covered CISA 2015 reauthorization, information sharing, and state/local cyber funding priorities. Cyber offense and deterrence: shaping adversary behavior by imposing real costs. AI everywhere: faster attacks, faster defense, and higher infrastructure stakes. Convergence and connectivity: data centers, wireless, subsea cables, satellite, and scale. Deepfake social engineering and shrinking ransomware dwell times in 2026. "Typhoon" intrusions, critical infrastructure exposure, and major-event targeting pressure. Key Quotes "What I believe is going to overtake identity just in general is deep fake social engineering. And that means the calls that look like your CEO that tell you to get on an urgent call right now... I think I'd click on that if I didn't know better. And a lot of us in the security realm would." — Cynthia Kaiser "We're actually getting the broader dividing line between haves and have nots... If you can't move fast, you're going to need to find someone who can... If you're someone that can't receive new information and immediately improve your defensive posture, you're probably a have not." — Matt Hayden "We're seeing and hearing that the US government is interested in taking the fight to the adversaries... shaping the adversary's behavior is important because it slows them down, it imposes costs on them, and perhaps it could lead to deterrence." — Christopher Roberti "I started with China and I'm going to end with China... making sure again, we don't take our eye off the ball that wow, there may be reasons to make deals economically with China. We have to treat them as a potential adversary." — Bob Kolasky "At the end of the day, I look at as the typhoon epidemic—Salt, Vault... What is the next typhoon we're going to uncover in 2026 that's going to be driving our cybersecurity defense measures?" — Bill Evanina Relevant Links and Resources https://mccraryinstitute.com/directory/senior-fellows/

18 min
18/12/2025 · VIDEO

AI-Orchestrated Cyber Espionage and the Future of Cyber Defense with CISA's Nick Andersen

AI is speeding up cyber operations and shrinking the window for defenders to respond. Nick Andersen, who leads CISA's Cybersecurity Division, explains why Anthropic's recent report caught attention: it described what Anthropic called the first publicly reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign, in which threat actors misused its Claude models to automate and scale parts of an intrusion. Andersen and Frank Cilluffo unpack what that signal means for resilience, from model safeguards to the infrastructure and people surrounding them. They apply secure-by-design thinking to frontier AI, stress risk ownership for adopters—especially in OT—and warn against silver-bullet claims. The conversation closes on what it takes to build capacity, including KEV-driven prioritization and CISA's Scholarship for Service pipeline. Main Topics Covered Why AI changes cyber defense through speed, scale, and attacker efficiency. What the "Anthropic/Claude" case signals about resilience for AI providers. Secure-by-design expectations for AI systems and the infrastructure around them. OT adoption: governance, data flows, and safety-first decision-making. Workforce and talent pipelines, including CISA's Scholarship for Service interns. Practical prioritization: vulnerabilities, KEV, and remediation at operational pace. Key Quotes: "If we don't engage now in having a resilience conversation around our artificial intelligence companies, we're going to see a lot more of what, what happened with Claude, in this case." – Nick Andersen "The core principles regarding what we're focused on as cyber defenders don't necessarily change here, but the speed through which I think we can expect known vulnerabilities to be weaponized and exploited in the wild now that's going to change for us." – Nick Andersen "There is no silver bullet. Anybody who has a sales pitch they're receiving that says that this AI solution is going to solve all of your problems... they should immediately become exceedingly skeptical and start asking an awful lot of questions." – Nick Andersen "OT operators are going to have some really tough conversations coming up about what control are they willing to give away... We know within the OT environment safety and security has to come first." – Nick Andersen "Our adversary has a pretty clear-eyed view of what they're trying to achieve. And it is both the opportunities for, you know, discord and societal panic." – Nick Andersen Relevant Links and Resources House Hearing: The Quantum, AI, and Cloud Landscape: Examining Opportunities, Vulnerabilities, and the Future of Cybersecurity Anthropic Report: Disrupting the first reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign CISA: Principles for the Secure Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Operational Technology CISA: Scholarship for Service Guest Bio: Nick Andersen serves as Executive Assistant Director for CISA's Cybersecurity Division, where he leads national efforts to defend against major cyber threats and improve the resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure. He previously held senior cyber leadership roles at the White House, the Department of Energy, and in intelligence roles for the Coast Guard and Navy.

34 min
16/12/2025 · VIDEO

Revisiting Offensive Cyber Discussion with Adm. Mike Rogers (Ret.)

In this re-releases episode of Cyber Focus, host Frank Cilluffo sits down with Admiral Mike Rogers (Ret.), former Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency. Rogers shares insights from his leadership across two administrations, discussing offensive cyber operations, the evolution of Cyber Command, and pressing national security challenges. The conversation spans from undersea cable vulnerabilities to public-private integration, the future of quantum and AI, and the enduring need for clarity in cyber policy. A decorated Auburn alum, Rogers reflects on lessons learned, historical inflection points, and what must change for the U.S. to stay ahead in the cyber domain. Main Topics Covered: Shifting to a proactive cyber posture: persistent engagement and defend forward The evolving role of Cyber Command and comparisons to SOCOM Vulnerabilities in undersea cable infrastructure and space-like situational awareness Lessons from Ukraine on real-time public-private integration Strategic implications of AI and quantum technologies Key Quotes: "I believe that what [offensive cyber actions] we ought to authorize is not just going after infrastructure but directly going after capability within those nations that are generating these effects against us." — Adm. Mike Rogers "If you're going to deter an entity, they have to have some level of awareness of both [your] capability and intent." — Adm. Mike Rogers "If you had asked me five years ago when I left Cyber Command, would a foreign entity, in this case a nation-state, upload destructive malware into critical U.S. infrastructure in a time of peace?... I would have said to you… there's a low probability. Boy, I got that wrong." — Adm. Mike Rogers "I think it requires a little precision in how we discuss these matters. Because not all hacks are the same, not all hackers are the same, not all intentions are the same, not all capabilities are the same. [Not] everything is an 'attack'." — Frank Cilluffo "I'm not interested in collaboration; I'm interested in integration. I'm interested in a real-time situational awareness between government and the private sector." — Adm. Mike Rogers Relevant Links and Resources: U.S. Cyber Command – Mission and Vision https://www.cybercom.mil/About/Mission-and-Vision/ NSA – About the Agency https://www.nsa.gov/about/ Cyberspace Solarium Commission Final Report https://www.solarium.gov/report Guest Bio: Adm. Mike Rogers (Ret.) served as the Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command from 2014 to 2018. A four-star admiral with a distinguished 37-year career in the U.S. Navy, he helped shape modern cyber strategy at the highest levels of government. Since retiring from active duty, he has advised Fortune 500 companies, startups, and global institutions on cyber, intelligence, and national security issues.

45 min
09/12/2025 · VIDEO

The Hidden Backbone of the Internet: Subsea Cable Security with Alex Botting

Undersea cables quietly carry almost all global internet traffic yet rarely feature in security debates. This episode explains how subsea infrastructure underpins the global economy, data flows, and modern military operations while facing frequent "accidental" disruptions and growing geopolitical risk. Listeners hear why chokepoints, island dependencies, and hotspots from the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait keep national security officials up at night. The conversation also explores how redundancy, smarter investigations, and faster permitting can harden this hidden backbone against both negligence and sabotage. Frank and Alex close by looking at AI, quantum, fiber sensing, and satellite backups as the next frontier for cable resilience and deterrence. Main Topics Covered Subsea cables as the physical backbone of global internet and finance. How outages happen, from ship anchors to suspected sabotage. Strategic chokepoints, island dependencies, and contested regions like the Red Sea. Building resilience through redundancy, permitting reform, and trusted infrastructure partners. New monitoring tools: fiber sensing, AI, and quantum for cable security. How governments and industry share intelligence and fund resilient capacity. Key Quotes: "Subsea cables carry the vast majority of Internet traffic around the world… Estimates vary from 95 to 99% of Intercontinental data traffic. So when you think about the Internet, subsea cables are the basis of the Internet." "Redundancy is our biggest defense… We have 100 cables coming into the US and therefore it makes it very hard to do anything meaningful in a short time frame to actually impact it. "Do I think our adversaries would want to do this [tap cables]? Yes... Do I think they can do it? Possibly. Do I think the juice is worth the squeeze? No, I don't." "There were more cable cuts in the Taiwan Strait in January of this year than either 2024 or 2023 in total. That is a sharp uplift at a time when we know that hostility in that part of the world is rising. I would be shocked if none of those incidents were knowingly done." "The entire Starlink... global capacity is equivalent to [only a few] subsea cable[s]... So when you talk about truly replacing [subsea cables], it's not there." Relevant Links and Resources Alex Botting paper "Shoring Up Subsea Security" for the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law. House Homeland Committee Hearing: An Examination of Foreign Adversary Threats to Subsea Cable Infrastructure Alex's Podcast: Distilling Cyber Policy Guest Bio: Alex Botting is the Senior Director of Global Security & Technology Strategy at Venable. His career has focused on shaping policies at the intersection of security, technology & telecoms in more than 50 countries and multilateral organizations around the world. In November he testified before the House Homeland Security Committee about threats to the subsea cable infrastructure.

37 min

TRAILER

Cyber Focus Preview Introduction

Cyber Focus is the new podcast from The McCrary Institute for Cyber and Infrastructure Security. The institute seeks practical solutions to real-world problems, underpinned by research and scholarship. Led by host Frank Cillufo, each week Cyber Focus will be the place to hear from the leading voices in cybersecurity, and discover what challenges they believe the country must address to ensure a safe and secure future. Subcribe now, and join us again for our first episode on January 31st.

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24 sec

Cyber Focus, from the McCrary Institute, explores the people and ideas that shape and protect our digital world. Each week our host, Frank Cilluffo, speaks with the leading voices in cybersecurity, and brings to light what steps public and private organizations need to be taking to keep our country secure.

Creator

McCrary Institute
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

109
Rating

Clean
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