Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

The latest event in the NTI Seminar series featured Christopher Painter, former top U.S. cyber diplomat and president of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation, to discuss the intersection of cyber and nuclear security.

Malicious hacking and interference are accelerating, and no digital systems, including those in nuclear weapons and related systems, are immune. Experts worry that a false warning or other miscalculation caused by a cyberattack could lead to the use of nuclear weapons. Could international cybersecurity cooperation bring stability as relations among the U.S., China, and Russia continue to deteriorate?

Chris Painter is a globally recognized leader and expert on cybersecurity and cyber policy, cyber diplomacy, and combating cybercrime. He has been on the vanguard of U.S. and international cyber issues for more than 25 years—first as a prosecutor of some of the most high-profile cybercrime cases in the U.S. and then as a senior official at the Department of Justice, FBI, the National Security Council and the State Department.

Mr. Painter was instrumental in negotiating landmark agreements, including with China and India, and using diplomatic and other tools to combat high-profile cyberattacks and intrusions. He and his team also spearheaded the promotion of an international framework of cyber stability designed to reduce the risk of miscalculation that could inadvertently lead to conflict in cyberspace.