Cyber Policy Initiative (CPI) seeks to fortify public policy by investigating the intersection of national security, politics, and technology. Established in 2018, CPI conducts research on policy and cybersecurity. It also serves as a forum through which government officials, academics, and technological professionals can engage and collectively strengthen cyber posture against malicious attacks.
CPI currently partners with DEF CON, the world’s largest conference of hackers and technologists, and various government agencies at home and abroad. CPI is committed to advancing critical policy aims with four key pillars.
New Book by Cyber Policy Initiative’s Jake Braun on America’s Secret Fentanyl War Against the Sinaloa Cartel, Chinese Accomplices
A new book out today pulls back the curtain on the first-ever U.S. strategy to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel and its Chinese chemical suppliers. Fentanyl: Fighting the Mass Poisoning of America and the Cartel Behind It, Jake Braun, executive director of the Cyber...
DEF CON 32 Hackers’ Almanack
We are proud to present The . This year’s iteration marks the inaugural release of a first-of-its-kind report compiled by DEF CON Franklin, a new collaborative effort between DEF CON and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy—Cyber Policy Initiative....
Jake Braun Discusses Election Security, Cyber Policy, and His Stint at the White House
After several years working in the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, Jake Braun has returned to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy as a senior lecturer and executive director of the Cyber Policy Initiative (CPI). One of the...
Aims of the Cyber Policy Initiative
Publish a yearly “Hackers’ Almanack (PDF, 7.2MB)” covering cutting-edge DEF CON technological policy interventions, including topics like AI, biomedical, ransomware, etc.
Co-manage a cyber volunteer task force with DEF CON and the National Rural Water Association to help secure critical infrastructure, starting with water systems.
Develop projects to help national-level and local governments develop cybersecurity and workforce development strategies.
Address policy research needs on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and other contemporary issues.
Hackers Almanack
We are proud to present The DEF CON 32 Hackers’ Almanack. This year’s iteration marks the inaugural release of a first-of-its-kind report compiled by DEF CON Franklin, a new collaborative effort between DEF CON and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy—Cyber Policy Initiative. The Hackers’ Almanack compiles the most interesting, impactful, and innovative research and vulnerabilities identified at DEF CON—presented in typically extraordinary fashion.
Download the DEF CON 32 Hackers’ Almanack (PDF, 7.2MB)
Jacob 'Jake' Braun
Executive Director, Cyber Policy Initiative, University of Chicago Co-Founder, Cambridge Global Advisors
Jake Braun is the Executive Director of the Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and Co-Founder of Cambridge Global Advisors, a national security consulting firm.
Paul Chang
Program Director, Cyber Policy Initiative
Paul is Program Director of the Cyber Policy Initiative, a technology and policy-focused research organization housed at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.