a16z Podcast

a16z Podcast: Changing the Way We Talk about Cybersecurity

Martin Casado, Nathaniel Gleicher, Matthew Olsen, and Matt Spence

Posted June 16, 2017

When individuals gain the abilities that only nation states once had, how do we put cyber threats in perspective for policymakers — without unduly “inflating” the threats? As it is, security is an intense and important topic, so our job is to be scared — and prepared — but what’s the scope of the actual threats, how do we talk about them, and what are the best analogies even? For example, we tend to think about “getting inside” as the big problem — but in fact, the steady, “low-grade” degradation of trust and constant exposure is much more common and where we should be focusing holistically. 

The guests in this episode of the a16z Podcast discuss all this in a conversation (with a16z’s Matt Spence) recorded as part of our Tech Policy Summit in Washington D.C.: a16z general partner Martin Casado; Head of Cybersecurity Strategy at Illumio Nathaniel Gleicher; and former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and former General Counsel for the NSA Matthew Olsen.

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The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

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