Cyber Focus

McCrary Institute
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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.

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

    12/18/2025 · 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
  2. Revisiting Offensive Cyber Discussion with Adm. Mike Rogers (Ret.)

    12/16/2025 · 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

  3. 12/09/2025 · 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
  4. The Army's "No Fail" Cyber Mission with Brandon Pugh

    12/02/2025 · VIDEO

    The Army's "No Fail" Cyber Mission with Brandon Pugh

    Army Principal Cyber Advisor Brandon Pugh joins Frank Cilluffo to address a stark reality: if critical infrastructure fails, the Army cannot mobilize. To meet this "no fail" mission, Pugh explains how the service is aggressively merging cyber with electronic warfare and cutting red tape to field new technology in days rather than years. They also discuss the Army's unique edge in this digital fight—Reservists who bring high-level private sector expertise directly to the battlefield. The conversation also explores how AI and operational technology are reshaping the Army's cyber battlefield and threat landscape. Main Topics Covered • How Congress created the principal cyber advisor role and defined its authorities. • Army cyber's four focus areas: AI, defense critical infrastructure, acquisition, and workforce. • Integrating cyber, electronic warfare, RF, and information operations into Army warfighting doctrine. • Defending defense critical infrastructure and preparing for Volt Typhoon-style cyber disruptions. • Leveraging AI for continuous monitoring, faster detection, and protection of sensitive Army data. • Reforming cyber acquisition through FUZE prototypes, VC-style partnerships, and Guard and Reserve expertise. Key Quotes "Cyber is not an isolated capability. It's not something that just rests at Fort Gordon or Fort Meade." – Brandon Pugh "If an adversary goes after one of our military bases and we can't mobilize people, tanks, equipment in a time of conflict, that is a major concern… we can't accept the fact that cyber could be the barrier to our ability to do other military tasks." – Brandon Pugh "It's a national security imperative to leverage AI. We know adversaries are going to leverage AI or exploit our AI regardless of what we do here. We could put barriers in terms of aggressive regulation which some have proposed in the past or seek to slow it down. All that's going to do is help our adversaries." – Brandon Pugh "We have some individuals that show up their reserve weekend in $300,000-$400,000 vehicles because they are the experts in what they do as civilians. They have signed up and taken the oath because they want to serve this country. That is the talent we have in the Reserve and Guard that we need to continue to expand." – Brandon Pugh "We don't have to go through a multi-year acquisition cycle, spend millions of dollars where we've seen 3D printed drones for mere dollars in some cases being leveraged [in Ukraine]… We need some of these capabilities in a matter of days or weeks, not years." – Brandon Pugh Relevant Links and Resources • Jack Voltaic: Critical infrastructure resiliency • Army's FUZE Initiative Guest Bio Brandon Pugh is the Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, advising the Secretary and Army Chief of Staff on cyber readiness, budget, capabilities, and strategy. He previously served as a director at the R Street Institute and continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve as a national security law professor, having earlier been a paratrooper and international law officer.

    33 min
  5. Inside State Cyber Defense: Whole-of-State Security with Alabama's Daniel Urquhart and Chad Smith

    11/18/2025 · VIDEO

    Inside State Cyber Defense: Whole-of-State Security with Alabama's Daniel Urquhart and Chad Smith

    State and local governments are stepping up to defend critical services against fast-evolving cyber threats. In this episode of Cyber Focus, Alabama's top IT leaders show how they're staying ahead of the curve. They explain how a hybrid, highly decentralized environment forces them to lean on shared standards, SLCGP funding, and whole-of-state partnerships. Along the way, they unpack a recent incident that came dangerously close to crisis and what it revealed about tools, visibility, and trust. They also look ahead to AI-enabled attacks, deepfakes, and "distortion," and why automation and better intel will shape Alabama's next moves. Watch to see what other states, utilities, and local leaders can learn from Alabama's playbook.  Main Topics: How Alabama OIT governs technology across roughly 140 executive agencies in a mostly decentralized environment. Using SLCGP funds, shared contracts, and enterprise tools to lift up smaller municipalities that lack resources. Rethinking threat intelligence by pairing MS-ISAC and CISA feeds with deep knowledge of state business processes. Lessons from a major cyber incident, including incident-response retainers, tooling gaps, and the value of open communication. Building whole-of-state partnerships with CISA, FBI, utilities, National Guard, and the McCrary Institute through exercises and real incidents. Preparing for AI-enabled cyberattacks through automation, platform integration, and continuous upskilling for Alabama's cyber workforce. Key Quotes: "Cybersecurity is a team sport. It's not just one person. We're trying to build the community." — Daniel Urquhart "There's a huge concern that I have as we think about the amount of threats that are going to come at us from an AI enabled cyber attack. It is going to be so broad and so unlike anything that we've seen today." — Chad Smith "I think we have to be willing to talk about [a recent cyber incident] so that people can learn from it, but also so that people know, hey, they're actually doing something and things are happening in a way that we can respect."— Chad Smith "We try to do a lot of education and team building and building that cohesive whole estate approach by setting up technology demos and articulating the why." — Daniel Urquhart "We've done a really good job the last couple of years working with the FBI, Secret Service, National Guard. Those types of partnerships can make us stronger as a state." — Daniel Urquhart   Relevant Links and Resources ·       Alabama Office of Information Technology ·       Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center   Guest Bios:  Daniel Urquhart is the Secretary of the Alabama Office of Information Technology. OIT is responsible for the strategic planning, governance, and resource utilization of all IT for the State of Alabama. Before joining OIT, he served as CIO for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, where he worked with industry partners to build a state-of-the-art criminal justice network. Chadwick Smith serves as the Chief Information Security Officer for Alabama's Office of Information Technology (OIT). Mr. Smith has worked in the technology industry for over twenty-five years. Prior to joining OIT, Chad worked in the insurance, banking, and data communications industries.

    29 min
  6. The Hidden Dangers in Your Supply Chain with SecurityScorecard's Aleksandr Yampolskiy

    11/11/2025 · VIDEO

    The Hidden Dangers in Your Supply Chain with SecurityScorecard's Aleksandr Yampolskiy

    SecurityScorecard CEO Aleksandr Yampolskiy joins Cyber Focus to warn that third-party risk is now the dominant cybersecurity epidemic. With just 150 companies responsible for 90% of the global attack surface, a single compromise can ripple across sectors and continents. He and host Frank Cilluffo explore the cascading risks of software dependencies, fourth- and fifth-party exposure, and the challenges of shadow IT and shadow AI. Yampolskiy outlines where companies fall short on governance and calls for outcome-driven oversight, not just busywork. They also discuss how AI can be both a vulnerability vector and a force multiplier for defense. Main Topics Covered • Third-party breaches now account for 65% of cyber incidents globally • Only 150 companies comprise 90% of the global attack surface • The risks of shadow IT and "shadow AI" leaking sensitive data • Systemic vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure like U.S. ports and healthcare • Limitations of compliance-driven approaches without continuous risk measurement • The need for clear governance, outcome-oriented metrics, and board-level engagement Key Quotes "65% of data breaches today happen through use of a third party. Hackers go after one weak link." — Aleksandr Yampolskiy "150 companies' products comprise 90% of a global attack surface. So if one of those companies gets compromised, all of a sudden, you can compromise almost everybody." — Aleksandr Yampolskiy "You can be fully compliant with all the regulations, but not secure. Or you could be really secure but not compliant." — Aleksandr Yampolskiy "An employee takes [the] general ledger or... some sensitive corporate information, uploads it to ChatGPT—or worse, to [a model] in China—gets a beautiful response, looks like a champion... but then you just leaked sensitive information from a company and nobody knows about it." — Aleksandr Yampolskiy "Our ability to network has far outpaced our ability to protect networks." — Frank Cilluffo Relevant Links and Resources • SecurityScorecard Research Guest Bio Aleksandr Yampolskiy is the Co-Founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, a global leader in cybersecurity ratings and risk management. A former CISO and CTO, he has led the company since 2014 in helping tens of thousands of organizations—including half of the Fortune 100—measure and strengthen their cyber resilience.

    37 min
  7. CVE at a Crossroads: Global Standards, Local Failures, and What Comes Next with Nick Leiserson

    11/04/2025 · VIDEO

    CVE at a Crossroads: Global Standards, Local Failures, and What Comes Next with Nick Leiserson

    Cybersecurity veteran Nick Leiserson joins Cyber Focus this week to break down critical governance gaps in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system and what's at stake if they're not fixed. He and host Frank Cilluffo explore the risks of global fragmentation, the lingering fallout from the F5 breach, and why policy tools like Executive Order 14028 remain stalled. Leiserson warns that the U.S. court system faces an under-the-radar cyber crisis, and shares specific, actionable funding priorities Congress should tackle now. From software supply chain failures to operational coordination gaps, the episode provides a sharp look at what's missing in the federal cybersecurity response—and what can still be done to fix it. Main Topics Covered ·       Why CVE is the global "lingua franca" for vulnerabilities—and what happens if it fails ·       How a near-shutdown exposed CVE's fragile funding and governance model ·       The F5 breach and what it reveals about persistent risks in the software supply chain ·       Missed opportunities in EO 14028 and regulatory inertia in implementation ·       Why the U.S. court system breach is a cybersecurity crisis hiding in plain sight ·       Urgent spending needs: water system grants, K-12 cybersecurity, and court system defense Key Quotes "CVE... It's the universal language that we can all look at and understand what we're talking about. And today in 2025, we totally take that for granted." "The worst case is fragmentation. The second worst is [when] government comes in and says, we're going to supplant the expertise that's been built up over 25 years" —Nick Leiserson "[Some ask] 'Didn't we put a bunch of policy in place to stop SolarWinds?' The answer is we did. If you look at Executive Order 14028… it came out in the immediate aftermath of SolarWinds, and it has not been implemented." —Nick Leiserson "This is just one of those things that's vaguely terrifying, and it takes a lot to terrify me after 15 years in this space. But as best we can tell from public reporting, either there's been one continuous breach since 2020, or at least similar types of actors are continually being able to get into the federal court system." —Nick Leiserson "[F5 is] one of these bits of technologies that most people would not immediately wake up and say that's essential to our economy, our national security, our public safety. But it is." —Frank Cilluffo   Relevant Links and Resources Institute for Security + Technology report on CVE reform Executive Order 14028 – Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity  CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog FCC K–12 Cybersecurity Pilot Program   Guest Bio Nick Leiserson is Senior Vice President for Policy at the Institute for Security and Technology. He was a founding member of the Office of the National Cyber Director, where he led national cyber policy development and helped launch the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff to Rep. Jim Langevin and helped enact dozens of recommendations from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. A longtime strategist on Capitol Hill and in the White House, Leiserson is known for translating complex tech policy into action on issues ranging from regulatory harmonization to software liability.

    34 min
  8. Code Red: Breaking Down China's Cyber Offensive—Volt, Salt, and Flax Typhoon

    10/28/2025 · VIDEO

    Code Red: Breaking Down China's Cyber Offensive—Volt, Salt, and Flax Typhoon

    What do Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon reveal about China's cyber playbook? This episode of Cyber Focus breaks down a new McCrary Institute report on China's advanced persistent threat campaigns—and what they mean for U.S. national security. Frank Cilluffo sits down with Mark Montgomery, Brad Medairy, and Bill Evanina to explain how China is embedding itself in American infrastructure, telecom, and data systems. They warn that Beijing is laying the groundwork for future conflict and that the U.S. response has been dangerously slow. The guests call for stronger deterrence, better public awareness, and a renewed focus on the economic toll of cyber theft. Main Topics Covered China's long-term cyber threat strategy Volt Typhoon and infrastructure targeting Salt Typhoon and telecom espionage Flax Typhoon and persistent access Gaps in U.S. cyber deterrence Economic costs of IP theft Relevant Links and Resources McCrary Institute Typhoon Report Booz Allen October 2025 China report Key Quotes: "Each year we can say the threat has grown. And I would say the leading driver of that growth in the cyber threat environment in the United States is China." — Mark Montgomery "China is using cyberspace to project power. And as a nation, I think that we need to recognize this threat." — Brad Medairy (~05:50) "Until people believe that [China's cyber actions] matters to them, we're not going to get the kind of actions we need." — Mark Montgomery "China['s] … offensive cyber tradecraft is going to be AI enabled. They're going to be able to deliver effects and capabilities at pace that we never imagined. — Brad Medairy "I think the Chinese want not only us, but they want the world to know that they're inside… Xi wants… the world to know that he can do this." — Bill Evanina "We have to expeditiously get into place where we could harden ourselves so the railroad could work, the ports work, the electricity grids work. We're not ready. We're nowhere near ready." — Bill Evanina   Guest Bios: RADM Mark Montgomery (Ret.) is Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He also serves as Executive Director of Cybersolarium.org, a nonprofit advancing the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which he led from 2019 to 2021. Previously, he was Policy Director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under Senator John McCain, following a 32-year career as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Rear Admiral in 2017. Bill Evanina is the Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group, where he advises corporate boards and CEOs on strategic risk, counterintelligence, and national security threats. He served as the first Senate-confirmed Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), leading U.S. government efforts to defend against espionage and foreign influence. A 24-year FBI veteran, Evanina held senior roles in both counterintelligence and counterterrorism and previously led the CIA's Counterespionage Group. He also chairs national and international security boards and is an instructor at the University of Chicago. Brad Medairy is an Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he leads the firm's cybersecurity business and supports national-level clients including the FBI, DHS, DOD, U.S. Cyber Command, and the Intelligence Community. He focuses on protecting critical infrastructure, securing emerging technologies, and defending against advanced cyber threats. Medairy leads multidisciplinary teams that integrate AI, cloud, and cyber operations to deliver full-spectrum solutions. He has been recognized as a Top 50 Cybersecurity Leader and Cyber Executive of the Year, and holds degrees from UMBC and Johns Hopkins University.

    44 min
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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.

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  • Creator
    McCrary Institute
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    104
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Cyber Focus
  • Show Website
    Cyber Focus

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