Potomac Institute Cyber Center

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow Amb. David Smith (Ret.) is the Director of the Potomac Institute Cyber Center.  He is a cyber security and cyber policy analyst, a former US arms negotiator, and an expert on Russian cyber capabilities.  At the July 19 US Cybersecurity Threats and Responses Conference, hosted by the American Foreign Policy Council, Amb. Smith gave a talk entitled "The Russian Cyber Threat to US National Security," which was covered by AOL Defense.  Amb. Smith told the group that Russia is just as big a cyber threat as China - and moreover, its hackers are less likely to get caught.  Click here to read AOL Defense coverage.

Potomac Institute Senior Fellow and Cyber Center Director David J. Smith and Associate Academic Fellow Khatuna Mshvidobadze attended the June 5-8 International Conference on Cyber Conflict sponsored by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.  On June 6, Smith presented "Russian Cyber Capabilities, Policy and Social Media" to an overflow international audience.  On June 7, Smith and Mshvidobadze presented, "Russian Cyber Capabilities, Policy and Practice" at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, which invited officials from a variety of interested agencies.  Finally, on June 8, Smith spoke on a panel, "Cyber Attack Scenario," cosponsored by the 175th Network Warfare Squadron of the Maryland Air National Guard and the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University.

The Potomac Institute Cyber Center is under the direction of Amb. David Smith (Ret.).  Areas of focus include Department of Defense cyber doctrine, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, public-private collaboration for the protection of privately-held critical infrastructure, international cyber policies and treaties, protection of intellectual property and copyright on the Internet, and other emerging areas of concern. The PICC provides   a forum for the open exchange of ideas related to cyber policy, and acts as a resource offering expert research, guidance and insight to policymakers, industry, academia and the public.

As PICC Director, Amb. Smith draws on his expertise as an analyst of foreign policy and international security, and his extensive experience as a US arms negotiator. He currently serves as US Member of the International Security Advisory Board and as Director of the Georgian Security Analysis Center in Tbilisi, Georgia. Amb. Smith writes and lectures frequently on cybersecurity and his e presentation at the International Cyber Defence Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, in May of 2011, was entitled "Russia, Georgia and the Shape of Cyber Wars to Come." For more information on Amb. Smith, click here.

Other Fellows affiliated with the PICC are Potomac Institute Fellow Paul Byron Pattak, a technology and national security analyst, and Associate Academic Fellow Khatuna Mshvidobadze, a security analyst and cyber security expert. For more information on Mr. Pattak, click here.  For more information on Ms. Mshvidobadze, click here.

Click here for a selection of media interviews and publications by PICC personnel.