IGP Hosts Governor Kathy Hochul and Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger during First Annual Cyber Regulation and Harmonization Conference

Columbia SIPA and the state of New York co-hosted the inaugural Cyber Regulation and Harmonization Conference on November 13 and 14, gathering experts and leaders for two days of in-depth discussions. The convening, which will become an annual event, was organized by SIPA senior research scholar Jason Healey and co-sponsored by SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics (IGP), Columbia Engineering, and the Data Science Institute.

The conference focused on the urgent need to harmonize inconsistent and duplicative cybersecurity regulations as cyber threats to the United States become more frequent and increasingly complex. Streamlining regulations and decreasing compliance costs is a crucial step toward enhancing the country’s ability to defend against attacks.

IGP organized two key panels as part of the proceedings. In the latest installment of the Spotlight Interview series that began in April 2023, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, SIPA professor and IGP Faculty Advisory Board Chair, spoke with New York Governor Kathy Hochul about her strategy for advancing statewide cybersecurity. “States are and must again be laboratories of democracy, and the governor has been working in this vein on the cyber security front,” said Clinton.

Hochul spoke about creating the Joint Security Operations Task Force to collaborate with other states and address threats from foreign actors and criminals that target high-profile locations such as New York. Hochul’s team has also concentrated on providing tools and resources to rural communities that lack cyber defense infrastructure resources. “It starts very local, with making sure we protect all the assets we can think of because it’s not just about government, it’s about hospitals going down,” she said, noting recent cyber attacks that impacted hospital systems in the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County. “Everything is connected today. And people need to start focusing on that – that interconnectivity of everything we do means you have to have this state strategy,” Clinton agreed.

Clinton and Hochul also discussed the impact of social media algorithms and online threats on children’s mental health and questions raised by advancements in AI technology. Hochul recently signed two tech safety bills, the Child Data Protection Act and the Safe for Kids Act. Earlier this year, she launched the $400 million Empire AI consortium, a public-private program that will create the nation’s largest supercomputer in Buffalo, which she said will utilize AI for the public good. “There are a thousand ways we can use AI for public good, as long as it’s in the hands of the right people,” Hochul said. “I don’t want to be afraid of something that I think has great potential for human good.”

Hochul also said she prioritizes making New York State a leader in technological innovation. She highlighted the Green CHIPS Act, which will create thousands of jobs and provide up to $10 billion in tax credits for environmentally friendly semiconductor manufacturing projects in the state. The Green CHIPS Act has higher standards than the federal CHIPS and Science Act; for example, the buildings must all be “built with sustainable materials and be compliant with standards to make sure that we’re reducing our emissions,” Hochul explained.

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IGP also organized a fireside chat between SIPA Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, discussing the relationship between cyber regulation and national security. When asked what cyber challenges the incoming Trump administration should prioritize in its first 100 days, Neuberger cited China’s sophisticated offensive program, artificial intelligence, and ransomware actors as the top concerns. She acknowledged deeply troubling shifts in China’s methods and called ransomware groups based out of Russia the “most disruptive adversary we face today.” She said 51 percent of global ransomware attacks target the US and urged the continuation of the Biden administration’s work to implement minimum cybersecurity requirements across critical infrastructure such as aviation and rail.

Throughout her conversation with Yarhi-Milo, Neuberger emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships and the role of state governments in shaping the regulatory landscape. New York, for example, has been a national leader in its cyber regulations. Harmonizing federal and state regulations will be crucial for creating a cohesive cybersecurity framework.

“Governor Hochul has really been a strategic leader and implementer, and I know a guide for many states on regulations,” Neuberger said. “New York has led on not only the regulatory aspect, with setting regulations for energy systems and work done with ransoms, but they’ve also had excellent operational ideas.”

Looking ahead to the future of the regulatory landscape, Neuberger emphasized the importance of convening individuals who lead cyber efforts around the country. “Those efforts are going to be different because a water system in rural Texas is very different from the water system that manages Niagara,” she said. “We need to bring together practitioners at the international, federal, and state levels to have honest conversations about challenges and lessons learned.”