Join CSIS on October 4 for a virtual discussion on the impact of the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime and some of the myths surrounding it. The discussion will include Amb. (ret.) Deborah McCarthy, U.S. Lead Negotiator to the Cybercrime Treaty, Chris Painter, President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation, Amb. Claudio Miguel Peguero Castillo, Cyber Ambassador of the Dominican Republic and Vice Chair of the UN Ad-Hoc Committee on Cybercrime and Jason Pielemeier, Executive Director at Global Network Initiative.
Speaker bios:
Ambassador Deborah A. McCarthy (ret.) is an expert on U.S. foreign and national security policy. Currently, she is the Senior Advisor on U.S. Engagement in the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of State. She is also a non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Recently, she was a Senior Fellow at Harvard University.
In her diplomatic career, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania (2013-2016), Deputy Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Greece and at the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua. In Washington, she was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Narcotics and Law Enforcement, Senior Advisor for Counter Terrorism and Special Coordinator for Venezuela. Other diplomatic postings include Consul General Montreal, Economic Counselor U.S. Embassy Paris, Financial Economist U.S. Embassy Rome and assignments in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Chris Painter is a globally recognized leader on cyber policy, cyber diplomacy, cybersecurity, and combating cybercrime. He has been at the vanguard of cyber issues for over 30 years, first as a federal prosecutor handling some of the most high-profile cyber cases in the United States and then as a senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, National Security Council, and, finally, as the world’s first cyber diplomat at the Department of State. Among many other things, Chris is president of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation, serves on the board of the Center for Internet Security and the Public Sector Advisory Board for Palo Alto Networks, and was a commissioner on the Global Commission for the Stability of Cyberspace. He is a frequent speaker on cyber issues, frequently is interviewed and quoted in the media, and has testified in front of congressional committees.
Ambassador Claudio Miguel Peguero Castillo is the Cyber Ambassador of the Dominican Republic and Vice Chair on the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime. His background is as a Systems Engineer and prior to his current role he was a National Police officer with 33 years of service and served as Chair of the America’s Cyber Working Group at INTERPOL. He specializes in cybersecurity, cybercrime investigations, digital forensics analysis, and law and policy making for cybersecurity.
Jason Pielemeier is Executive Director at the Global Network Initiative. Prior to joining GNI, Jason was a Special Advisor at the U.S. Department of State, where he led the Internet Freedom, Business, and Human Rights section in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In that role, Jason worked with colleagues across the U.S. government, counterparts in other governments, and stakeholders around the world to promote and protect human rights online. Jason is a graduate of Northwestern University and Yale Law School. Between degrees, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer and later led an innovative land titling and conservation project in rural Guatemala. After law school, he worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and as an Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
For more on this topic, listen to this podcast episode of Inside Cyber Diplomacy with Amb. (ret.) McCarthy talking about her experience during the negotiations, and these CSIS publications: The Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention (csis.org), Why the United Nations Is Chasing Its Tail on Cybersecurity (csis.org)
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.