Plenary Session 2: Fireside Chat

Homeland security is a whole-of-nation effort, with roles and responsibilities across every echelon of government. How does a governor see the enterprise from the state house? Is the “locally executed; state managed; federally support” model viable for the future?

In 2021, authorities, industry, and the public saw a dramatic increase in publicly acknowledged ransomware attacks. From critical infrastructure to healthcare systems to local governments, the attacks are growing more severe and frequent and no sector or industry seems invulnerable to these attacks. Cryptocurrency has been the payment means of choice by many of the attackers, raising questions as to whether cryptocurrency is an enabler of such attacks and what can be done in response. In the case of Colonial Pipeline, the US Government was able to trace and recoup much of the payment. With the rise in ransomware and the adoption of cryptocurrency in the legitimate economy, how should regulators, financial institutions, law enforcement, and the virtual asset community respond? Are there avenues of creative partnership to address these risks, and what can be done to ensure hackers find it more difficult to profit from ransomware?

The Earth is flat; the moon landing was faked; COVID vaccines change your DNA; Pineapple belongs on pizza?! Our open society is constantly bombarded with disinformation, some of it even deliberately driven by malign actors. But with trust in institutions of all types eroding, who can our society turn to for truth? When only a third of those raised and educated here can pass the US citizenship test, do we even truly understand the functions of our own government and society?