The Role of Private Sector Intelligence in a Divided World
Long before governments built dedicated intelligence services, private actors were already collecting and analysing strategic information – insuring ships, protecting trade secrets and mapping risk.
Today, that dynamic hasn't gone away, and in cyberspace, it has arguably become one of its defining features. When ‘Big Tech’ companies and other cyber threat intelligence companies publish reports on Russian operations against Ukraine, or name a Chinese intrusion set targeting critical infrastructure, these are not just technical reports. Instead, they can function as political acts – attributions, framings, signals – of the kind that used to sit more squarely within the domain of governments.
In this video commentary, Lewis Sage Passant, author of Beyond States and Spies: the Security Intelligence Services of the Private Sector and Louise Marie Hurel, Senior Research Fellow in RUSI’s Cyber and Tech team, discuss the role of private cyber companies in a time when countries increasingly depend on digital infrastructure.
FEATURING
Dr Louise Marie Hurel
Senior Research Fellow
Cyber and Tech
Lewis Sage-Passant
Guest Contributor
