(Stanford, CA) – On April 26, 2023, Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow Amy Zegart hosted General Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and commander of US Cyber Command, for a guest lecture in her undergraduate class, Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence.
In Stauffer Auditorium, Nakasone spoke to more than sixty students about his experience leading one of America’s largest spy agencies and serving as a military combatant commander.
Nakasone began by noting the unique nature of cyber as a combatant command. Most US military combatant commands are organized by geographic region. For example, US Southern Command is responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean. However, a separate US Cyber Command is necessary because cyber threats move beyond geographic borders and thus necessitate coordinated US military action. Centralization of capabilities and talent also calls for a unified cyber combatant command.
Nakasone described the role of the US Intelligence Community in providing insights to the president and other policy makers on the challenges America faces today and in the future from both state and non-state actors. In surveying the threat landscape, he noted that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation are currently the two largest purveyors of cyber threats. The PRC has stolen reams of commercial and governmental intellectual property, he said, while Russia has used cyberspace and social media to carry out influence operations.
Nakasone also stressed the importance of meaningful, two-way, public-private partnerships between the US Intelligence Community, US military, private industry companies, and academia. Given that much of the country’s cyber infrastructure is developed and operated by private companies, it is essential for the nation’s cyber infrastructure defenders to engage with those companies to prevent and mitigate attacks.
Talent recruitment and retention were also among the topics Nakasone discussed. Citing his own family’s history of military service, Nakasone told students that government service was among the most rewarding activities he had engaged in. Regarding challenges in recruiting younger generations to government service, he said it was important to recognize that newer talent often looks to serve in government for a few years, then leave for the private sector, but remains willing to return. Establishing pathways for employees to leave and come back will be important in increasing excitement for working at the NSA, he said.
Nakasone also answered several student questions on open-source intelligence, the US Cyber Strategy, the impact of artificial intelligence advances, and the role of congressional oversight in the military and intelligence communities.
In addition to the guest lecture, Nakasone spoke with Stanford undergraduate and graduate students in small group sessions. He also engaged with the military community at Stanford, meeting with students in ROTC and members of the Robert and Marion Oster National Security Affairs Fellows Program at the Hoover Institution.
