Emily Harding

Vice President, Defense and Security Department; Director, Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program
Emily Harding

Emily Harding is director of the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology (INT) Program and vice president of the Defense and Security Department at CSIS. As the head of the INT Program, she provides thought leadership on the most critical issues facing intelligence professionals and on the future of intelligence work. She also serves as deputy director of the International Security Program, where she is responsible for leading a team of world-renowned scholars providing policy solutions that shape national security. Drawing on her decades of experience in national security, Emily has established herself as an expert on how technology is revolutionizing national security work. Harding has served in a series of high-profile national security positions at critical moments. While serving as deputy staff director on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, she led the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, which was lauded for its bipartisanship. At CIA, she led analysts and analytic programs through moments of crisis, including shepherding the Iraq Group during the attempted Islamic State takeover. During a tour at the National Security Council, she served as director for Iran. After leaving the White House, her team ran the first Office of the Director of National Intelligence-led presidential transition, where she was responsible for briefing the incoming administration. Harding is an adjunct lecturer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her analysis has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, BBC, NPR, Bloomberg, and other outlets. Harding holds a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

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Alternative Funding Mechanisms in Review

DOD’s new Office of Strategic Capital will work to ensure that the future warfighter has the capabilities they need by attracting and scaling private capital to critical technologies for national security, with the advantages and risks of a portfolio investment approach.

Report by Erin L. Murphy, Cynthia Cook, Emily Harding, Gregory Sanders, Nicholas Velazquez, Julia Dickson, and Maeve Sockwell — November 21, 2024

Unleashing Quantum’s Potential

Quantum technologies could revolutionize solutions to national security and commercial challenges. CSIS convened experts from the U.S. and FVEY governments, industry, and think tanks to discuss four key challenges to making quantum tech a reality.

Commentary by Julia Dickson and Emily Harding — October 25, 2024

Audio Briefs

A Russian Bot Farm Used AI to Lie to Americans. What Now?

An audio version of “A Russian Bot Farm Used AI to Lie to Americans. What Now?,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Emily Harding. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Emily Harding — July 17, 2024

Audio Briefs

A Russian Bot Farm Used AI to Lie to Americans. What Now?

The United States and its allies disrupted a Russian bot farm that used AI to spread propaganda. With this, Russia has officially made one dystopian prediction about AI come true: it used it to lie better, faster, and more believably.

Commentary by Emily Harding — July 16, 2024