A glimpse of our digital future includes diverse actors operating on a widening attack plain with affects ranging from data disruption to death and destruction. How do we craft meaningful narratives of the future that can advise our community today? How do we combat the weaponization of data and future technology? Where do we even start?
Threatcasting is a conceptual framework and process that enables multidisciplinary groups to envision and systematically plan against threats ten years in the future. In August 2016, the Army Cyber Institute convened a cross section of public, private and academic participants to model future digital threats using this process with inputs from social science, technical research, cultural history, economics, trends, expert interviews, and even a little science fiction. Renowned futurist Brian David Johnson and Army Major Natalie Vanatta will explore the results of this project that not only describes tomorrow’s threats but also identifies specific actions, indicators, and concrete steps that can be taken today to disrupt, mitigate, and recover from these future threats.
Brian David Johnson (@BDJFuturist) is a Futurist and Fellow at Frost and Sullivan and the Futurist in Residence at Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination and a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He works with organizations to model possible futures then works with them to specify the steps needed to get there.
Natalie Vanatta (@natalie_vanatta) is a security researcher at the Army Cyber Institute. Her PhD in math and IT background has definitely colored her way of thinking about the complex nature of offensive and defensive operations on 1s and 0s.