Upcoming Events: Deconstructing the 'Cuban Spring' Fantasy (4/9); Taking Back Power in the Age of Networks (4/14)

Deconstructing the 'Cuban Spring' Fantasy

Thursday, April 9, 4:00pm ET, Lippmann House, Nieman Foundation, One Francis Ave, Cambridge MA.

Elaine Diaz, Nieman Fellow and University of Havana Journalism Professor
Ellery Roberts Biddle, Berkman Fellow and Global Voices Advocacy Director

What does the new chapter in US-Cuba relations mean for digital communities and journalists in Cuba? How does the Internet actually work there? Since 2010, Elaine Diaz and Ellery Roberts Biddle have worked together to tell unique stories about technology and journalism in Cuba, based on facts, research, and personal experience. Today more than ever, they want to increase public understanding of these issues and to counterbalance the rising tide of misinformation and sensationalism in online reporting about technology in Cuba. At this afternoon event, they will speak briefly on Internet policy and journalistic practice in Cuba and facilitate a group discussion on issues that lie at the intersection of technology, journalism, and digital communities on the island. more information on our website>

Taking Back Power in the Age of Networks

Tuesday, April 14, 12:00pm ET, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

The Internet is said to be a space of democratic expression and transformation, both culturally and politically. But how true is that claim? What are some of the economic, technical, and legal obstacles in place? Drawing from my recent book, The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, and my experience as an artist and an activist, this talk will address campaigns by musicians against streaming services and debtors against creditors to reflect on the larger question of how to organize and leverage change in an age of virtual networks—be they networks of cultural distribution or financial ones.

Astra Taylor is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Athens, Georgia. Her films include Zizek!, a feature documentary about the world’s most outrageous philosopher, and Examined Life, a series of excursions with contemporary thinkers including Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, Cornel West, Peter Singer and others. Taylor’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, the London Review of Books, Bookforum, n+1, and many other publications. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Classes of defense for computer systems

Tuesday, April 21, 12:00pm ET, Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2004. This event will be webcast live.

There is no silver bullet for defending computer systems. Strengthening security means negotiating a balance among a variety of defenses that fall into several different categories and rely on the cooperation and support of many different actors, including technologists, managers, and policy-makers. Therefore, one crucial element of security involves understanding the multiplicity of defenses and the ways they can be combined and recombined to protect systems. Yet, there is no clear model of how different classes of computer system defense relate to classes of attack, or what defensive functions are best suited to technical, policy, or managerial interventions. Drawing on case studies of actual security incidents, as well as the past decade of security incident data at MIT, this talk will analyze security roles and defense design patterns for application designers, administrators, and policy-makers. It will also discuss the interplay between defenses designed to limit access to computer systems and those oriented towards limiting and mitigating the resulting damage.

Josephine Wolff is a PhD candidate in the Engineering Systems Division at MIT studying cybersecurity and Internet policy. Her dissertation research focuses on understanding combinations of different types of defenses for computer systems, including the interactions among technical, social, and policy mechanisms. She has interned with Microsoft's Technology Policy Group, the Center for Democracy & Technology, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Department of Defense. She has also written on computer security topics for Slate, Scientific American, and Newsweek. She holds an AB in mathematics from Princeton University, and an SM in Technology & Policy from MIT. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World

The Berkman Center celebrates the launch of Berkman Fellow Bruce Schneier's new book, Data and Goliath, with special guests Yochai Benkler, Joe Nye, Sara Watson, and Melissa Hathaway. Moderated by Jonathan Zittrain. video/audio on our website>