Cybersecurity

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Technology allows individuals and organizations access to more comprehensive and diverse information, but this access requires that electronic information, networks, data repositories, and data transmissions be adequately safeguarded. RAND has developed a large body of research focused on recognizing the potential threats to information security and data integrity, as well as implications for personal and institutional privacy.

  • Screen showing computer code with malicious code logged error, photo by solarseven/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Software Supply Chain Risk Is Growing, but Mitigation Solutions Exist

    Software supply chain security has emerged as a leading risk because of the massively fragmented and decentralized nature of modern software development. While we still have much to learn as a community about this risk, there are concrete steps we can take to better understand and mitigate it.

    Jan 26, 2023

  • Blue binary code and blue swirling lines, photo by metamorworks/Getty Images

    Report

    Preparing for Post-Quantum Critical Infrastructure

    Quantum computers are expected to create vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. How vulnerable are critical functions, such as distributing electricity and protecting sensitive information? And how can the government help infrastructure owners and operators?

    Aug 18, 2022

Explore Cybersecurity

  • U.S. Army soldiers take part in a multi-service exercise on cyber capabilities at Ford Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, June 10, 2014

    Testimony

    Effective Cyberdeterrence Takes More Than Offensive Capability

    A successful cyberdeterrence posture has many prerequisites. These include attributing attacks to the correct party, thresholds for what merits retaliation, credibility, and offensive capability. For the United States, capability is the least in doubt.

    Mar 1, 2017

  • Cyber gavel illustration

    Commentary

    Does the Court System Know as Much About ESI as Your Teenager? It Should.

    Electronically stored information (ESI) from smart appliances, fitness trackers, and other devices is making its way into the U.S. court system. Judges and lawyers need to better understand this evidence so they can challenge it or rule on its admissibility in court.

    Feb 21, 2017

  • Binary code bursts from phones held by a crowd of people with an overlay of glowing electronic numbers

    Commentary

    What Is the Adversary Likely to Do with the Clearance Records for 20 Million Americans?

    The state actor that hacked the Office of Personnel Management could use the stolen information to further its domestic control against dissidents, enhance its foreign intelligence, and improve its position in the global military and economic order.

    Jan 20, 2017

  • Report

    Report

    A Framework for Exploring Cybersecurity Policy Options

    RAND conducted two discovery games to explore possible solutions for improving cybersecurity, assess their implications, and develop an initial framework to support debate and inform decisions regarding cybersecurity policies and practices.

    Nov 23, 2016

  • Illustration of a digital world

    Commentary

    Where Next for the Digital Society?

    Digital technologies are omnipresent, both in terms of where we are and what we do. A digital society can bring about economic and societal gain, but there are many challenges that need to be addressed beyond the actual technologies.

    Oct 14, 2016

  • Report

    Report

    Thought Leadership programme 2016: Key Findings

    Key findings from the 2016 Thought Leadership Programme, convened by Corsham Institute in conjunction with RAND Europe and St George's House exploring opportunities and challenges created by digital technologies in society.

    Oct 13, 2016

  • Concept of leaky software, data pouring out of pipe

    Commentary

    Digital Theft: The New Normal

    Absolute data breach prevention is not possible, so knowing what people want when it happens is important. Consumers and corporations alike should accept this risk as a “when,” not an “if,” and prepare for it.

    Oct 10, 2016

  • Woman paying a cashier with a credit card

    Journal Article

    Cost of Cyber Incidents to American Companies Is Less Than Expected

    Why don't American companies invest more in computer security? One possible explanation: Relative to the other risks they face, cyber risks often aren't as significant as expected. Most breaches cost companies less than 0.4 percent of their annual revenues.

    Oct 10, 2016

  • News Release

    News Release

    Ukraine's Security Sector Needs Substantial Reform

    An assessment of Ukraine's security sector determines what different institutions need to do and where gaps exist. Roles and responsibilities need to be clarified, and coordination is needed among individual ministries and agencies.

    Oct 5, 2016

  • Ukrainian servicemen take part in a rehearsal for the Independence Day military parade in central Kiev, Ukraine, August 22, 2016

    Report

    Security Sector Reform in Ukraine

    The 2014 Maidan revolution created an opportunity for change in a system that had resisted it for 25 years. The Ukrainian security establishment has progressed since then, but its efforts have been insufficient to address the threats now facing the nation.

    Oct 5, 2016

  • TSA agents screen a passenger at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, February 27, 2015

    Announcement

    RAND Chosen to Operate New Research Center for U.S. Department of Homeland Security

    A new center will conduct analyses and make recommendations to strengthen DHS across its missions to prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure and manage U.S. borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace, and strengthen national preparedness and resiliency.

    Oct 4, 2016

  • The headquarters of the Democratic National Committee is seen in Washington, D.C., June 14, 2016

    Commentary

    The DNC Hack: Are New Norms Needed?

    A new norm that would hold the Russian DNC hack to be unacceptable could not rest on a general prohibition against cyber-espionage or political interference. It would have to combine both prohibitions at once.

    Sep 29, 2016

  • Dmitri Dolgov, principal engineer on the software team of Google's Self-Driving Car project, speaks during a presentation in Mountain View, California, September 29, 2015

    Commentary

    The Brains Behind Autonomous Vehicles May Need a License to Drive

    Autonomous vehicles require exquisite software. To make this software secure, industry and government should consider educational standards and licensure requirements for the engineers who create it.

    Sep 27, 2016

  • News Release

    News Release

    Cost of Cyber Incidents Not Large Compared with Other Business Losses; May Influence Responses by Businesses

    Data breaches have made headlines in recent years, exposing poor practices that put the personal information of millions of consumers at risk. But the cost of a typical cyber breach is much less than generally estimated, providing one possible explanation for why American companies do not invest more to improve computer security.

    Sep 20, 2016

  • A man counting pills on his laptop

    Commentary

    Dark Web Likely Isn't Fuelling International Drug Sales

    Vendors in the Netherlands have developed a fairly successful international trade of ecstasy-type drugs and stimulants from online markets, but it appears that most countries are selling illicit drugs within their own borders.

    Sep 19, 2016

  • Cyber illustration of a judge's gavel

    Commentary

    The Future of Cyber Investigations at the FBI Is Unclear

    Evidence presented by the FBI in the case of U.S. v. Jay Michaud was excluded because the agency was unwilling to reveal the software exploit used to collect it. If the FBI exposes its capabilities, other criminals can patch their computers, but concealing its techniques risks the ability to prosecute cyber criminals.

    Aug 24, 2016

  • News Release

    News Release

    Untangling the 'Dark Web': New Study Shows Steady Growth of the Online Illicit Drugs Trade

    The number of transactions for illicit drugs on cryptomarkets, which exist on the “dark web,” have tripled and revenues have doubled since 2013, when Silk Road 1.0 was shut down by the FBI.

    Aug 8, 2016

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    The role of the 'dark web' in the trade of illicit drugs

    The Internet has fundamentally changed ways of doing business, including the operations of illegal markets. RAND Europe was commissioned to investigate the role of the Internet in facilitating the drugs trade, particularly in the Netherlands.

    Aug 5, 2016

  • Spider web

    Report

    Growth of the Online Illicit Drugs Trade

    Silk Road was the first major online marketplace for illegal goods on the hidden web. Since the FBI took it down in 2013, copycats have filled the void. Transactions for illicit drugs on cryptomarkets have tripled and revenues have doubled.

    Aug 5, 2016

  • Guo Shengkun, China's Minister of Public Security, speaks during the Second U.S.-China High-Level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues in Beijing, China, June 14, 2016

    Commentary

    The U.S.-China Cyber Agreement: A Good First Step

    The 2015 U.S.-China cyber agreement is a potentially important first step toward addressing the problem of Chinese espionage. But it is by no means a final step.

    Aug 1, 2016

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