Law and the Future of War
Through conversation with experts in technology, law and military affairs, this series explores how new military technology and international law interact. Edited and produced by Dr Lauren Sanders and Dr Simon McKenzie, the podcast is published by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security. Until July 2024, the podcast was published by the University of Queensland School of Law.
Note: the views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other organisation (such as Government, or Departments of Defence), unless the speaker specifically attributes their comments to that organisation.
Law and the Future of War
Cyber autonomy - Ryan Ko
In this episode, Dr Simon McKenzie talks with Professor Ryan Ko about the prospects and risks of cyber autonomy. Programs and systems are being developed that automate cyber defence, allowing them to self-discover, prove and correct software vulnerabilities at real-time. Some are even capable of doing more than defending, but can also attack other systems in the computer network, all without direct human oversight.
Professor Ryan Ko is Chair and Director of Cyber Security at the University of Queensland and is also Deputy Head of School (External Engagement) at the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. His research in cyber security focuses on returning control of data to cloud computing users, reducing users' reliance on trusting third-parties and focusses on (1) provenance logging and reconstruction, traceability and (2) privacy-preserving data processing. Along with his academic research, he has advised companies and governments on managing cybersecurity risks.
Further reading
- Ryan Ko, 'Cyber Autonomy: Automating the Hacker', preprint of chapter in Reuben Steff, Joe Burton, Simona R. Soare, Emerging Technologies and International Security: Machines, the State, and War (Routledge, 2020).
- David Brumley, The Cyber Grand Challenge and the Future of Cyber-Autonomy (2018) USENIX, ;login: ,43(2).
- Team Shellphish, Cyber Grand Shellphish.