Virtual event
Cyber Attacks on Government: What You Need to Know
Exclusively for public servants and policymakers
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025
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At this event, you’ll learn how to:
- Understand emerging cyber threats in 2025 targeting governments
- Explore key strategies for protecting digital government services
- Learn actionable tactics for building cyber resilience
Speakers
What to Do Next
- Catch up on the 10-minute highlights above, or dive into the full recording
- Join the Misinformation and Disinformation Community of Practice
- Check out our next event Policymaking 101
Resources
- Event transcript
- Hackerone Global Vulnerability Policy Map
- White Paper: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity:Balancing Risks and Rewards
- UNIDIR Cyber Policy Portal
Join the Misinformation and Disinformation Community of Practice
The Misinformation and Disinformation Community of Practice is a a dynamic space designed for public servants and policymakers committed to addressing misinformation and disinformation. Connect with peers worldwide, share insights and resources, and discover practical strategies to effectively counter these challenges.
Event Description
Deepfakes, malware, data breaches — governments are susceptible to all these escalating threats. The more integrated and interconnected digital systems get, the likelier they are to become targets. Digital transformation comes at the price of increasing cybersecurity risks.
Advancements in technology and geopolitical tensions create the perfect storm: high incentives for hacking paired with low barriers to entry. Compounding this is what the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity describes as “a global shortage of nearly 4 million cyber professionals.” Now more than ever, public servants must stay vigilant against the threats they face.
This session brings together global cybersecurity experts for an in-depth briefing. They will examine the current threat landscape for governments, reveal popular techniques used to infiltrate systems, and provide actionable strategies for public servants to defend against them.
Interested in how Apolitical can support you and your organisation? Learn about collaborating with us.
Image credit: Pexels
Speakers
Francesca Bosco
Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer & Head of Foresight, CyberPeace Institute
Switzerland
Ilona Cohen
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Policy Officer, and Corporate Secretary, HackerOne
Jonathan Scott
Head of Cyber Security, Government Digital Service
United Kingdom
Francesca Bosco, has an International Law and Human Rights background with 15+ years’ experience in working for international organizations (UN and WEF) on action-oriented research, capacity building, technical assistance in human rights, justice, peace and security. She has developed her expertise on countering cybercrime (from hackers profiling to protection of critical infrastructure), misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, crime-tech convergence and misuse of technology, focusing on opportunities, systemic risks and threats created by emerging technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence). She has expertise in leading programs to foster digital resilience, cyber capacity building, diversity and inclusion initiatives, advising boards and working with leadership in supporting organizations’ development. She has been working on securing digital transformation of contextually vulnerable and underserved organizations, in developing countries and in fragile contexts, to foster the achievement of the SDGs. At the Institute, she is leading the strategic engagement in programs leveraging multistakeholder cooperation with civil society, academia, corporates, philanthropy and public institutions, to reduce the harms from cyberattacks and disinformation, to anticipate the challenges posed by AI and emerging technology, and to promote sustainable cyberpeace.
Ilona Cohen, is the Chief Legal and Policy Officer at HackerOne, Inc., where she manages the public policy portfolio, oversees all legal matters, and provides strategic leadership to the company. Ilona joined the tech industry after serving nearly four years in the Obama White House, first as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel and then as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) General Counsel. At OMB, Cohen was an integral part of designing and implementing the Administration’s technology initiatives. Cohen was part of a core group responsible for the development of President Obama’s long-term strategy to enhance cybersecurity awareness and protection in the public and private sectors. Cohen has a broad range of experience and has served in other senior roles in the tech industry, the Executive Branch, and in the U.S. Senate. She started her legal career in private practice at the law firm WilmerHale. Cohen received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Michigan.
