Once again, the staff at the Center for Cybersecurity Policy & Law wanted to take a few moments to say what we are thankful for when it comes to the industry we serve. 

Ari Schwartz

I am thankful this year for the public-private partnerships that the Australian government has built. The Aussies have made a real concerted effort to get feedback from industry and work in partnership as they developed their Cybersecurity Strategy, policy and law. Big kudos to the past work of Ambassador Brendan Dowling; Patrick Hallinan; Adam Dobell; and others for getting us to this point and to the current team at the Australian Embassy for making it stronger than ever. 

Jeremy Grant

I am thankful for passkeys. It’s been a good 20 years where the cybersecurity community has been calling for “killing the password” - but it’s only with the emergence of passkeys that it is actually starting to happen. And given that compromised passwords - and increasingly, compromises of legacy MFA tools - provide the initial attack vector in nearly every major cyber incident, it’s high time we actually made some progress here.  

With this, I am thankful for the willingness of major tech platforms, security vendors, and online service providers to all collaborate in the FIDO Alliance to create the standards and best practices to enable the death of passwords - in a market full of ferocious competition, all of these players have recognized that without collaboration we will never make progress on this issue. I look forward to a time five years from now to be able to say I am thankful that breaches are down because we have driven most passwords out of the ecosystem - and thus made things much harder for our adversaries.  

Heather West

I’m grateful for the focus on not only the places that we disagree - of which there certainly are a few - but the many stakeholders who are coming together to build on places, frameworks, and best practices where there is broad consensus. This leads to significant progress, and cross-pollination on topics that we can make tangible progress on - like securing AI systems. We can all agree that we want to make sure these tools are secure!

Harley Geiger

Thank you to all our public servants. You have difficult jobs, but your service protects the ideals and infrastructure on which so much depends.

Luke O’Grady

From DDoS attacks to ransomware, threats in cyberspace are evolving rapidly. Everyday rogue state actors like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, along with a host of non-state actors, attempt to penetrate our systems - at best disrupting our economies, and at worst putting civilians in harm’s way. Since these threats transcend state borders, so too should our approach to cyber defense

That’s why I am grateful for transatlantic cooperation on cyber defense, particularly the initiatives led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Since the 2002 Prague Summit first put cyber defense on the Alliance’s political agenda, NATO has embarked on numerous efforts to improve collaboration and cohesion between Allied governments, industry, and even EU institutions in cyberspace. At this year’s Washington Summit, the Allies announced the establishment of the NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre (NICC), which will help protect Allied networks by providing NATO commanders with up-to-date threat information about both military and civilian critical infrastructure. 

Looking ahead, I hope this cooperation will endure. May the transatlantic bond remain strong, and may we remember there is far more that unites us than divides us. The security of cyberspace certainly depends on it.

Belisario Contreras 

This Thanksgiving, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each member of the Digi Americas and the LATAM CISO Community. Your support and dedication have been essential to our achievements this year. Together, we’ve tackled challenges, shared knowledge, and advanced our mission to increase and secure the digital landscape across Latin America. I’m excited for the future and the impact we’ll continue to make together. Thank you for being part of this journey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Alexis Steffaro 

I am deeply grateful for the growing interest in enhancing information sharing in Latin America and the Caribbean, as it reflects a shared commitment to strengthening regional cybersecurity resilience. By fostering trust and collaboration, we can better address common threats and create a safer digital environment for everyone in LATAM!

Zack Martin

I am thankful for the leaders at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence for carrying forward critical work on digital identity. The mobile driver license project with financial services institutions will prove how these digital credentials can be used to assert an identity online. The report released in October on attribute validation services provides important examples of architectures that can be used to advance digital identity in the U.S. 

Tanvi Chopra

America’s diversity is one of its greatest assets, and it should continue to be reflected in the field of cybersecurity. I am truly thankful for those who are working to create spaces that not only welcome but actively nurture diverse talent. Special shoutout to the folks at the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) for their efforts.

Alice Hubbard

I am thankful for all the recent efforts to ensure that AI is safe and secure for people to use, and I’m especially thankful for those who are working tirelessly to get AI regulation right and ensuring that AI can continue to provide significant benefits to people. As AI continues to grow, these efforts will only become more important and necessary.  

Dan Wolf

I am grateful for the lawmakers and elected officials that champion forward-thinking technology policies and digital transformation across state governments. I’m also grateful for the thousands of public servants across the country that work tirelessly to modernize and maintain critical government systems to help the people they serve.

Adam Dobell

I am thankful for the incredible opportunity I've been given to work with some of the brightest minds in cyber policy at the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law. Working alongside such talented and passionate colleagues during my first year with the Center has been nothing short of inspiring. I’m grateful for their willingness to consider alternative perspectives and to spruik best practice cyber policy, wherever it might emanate from. 

I'm also thankful for the continued shift in the United States towards creating and institutionalizing genuine public-private collaboration on cybersecurity, like the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), and international efforts such as the Counter Ransomware Initiative. These collaborations are crucial for building a safer and more secure digital future.

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