Hathaway Melissa

Melissa Hathaway Leading expert in cyberspace policy and cybersecurity

Melissa Hathaway is a leading expert in cyberspace policy and cybersecurity and consults governments, global organizations, and Fortune 500 companies on cybersecurity, enterprise risk management, and technology assessments. She is globally recognized as a thought leader in this field and has spent the last decade developing relationships with the highest levels of governments and international institutions — advising UN, NATO, the ITU, the OAS, and other key institutions and governments. She teaches at universities around the world and has distinguished affiliations with the following universities: Associate Director, Columbia
University, Center for Technology Management, a Senior Advisor at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center; a member of the Advisory Council at the Center for Asymmetric Threats Studies: National Defense College, Sweden; and a member of the Advisory Council for the Digital Science Institute, European School of Management and Technology, Germany. She also leads
research initiatives at the following internationally recognized think tanks: the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in the United States; the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada, the Kosciuszko Institute in Poland and a member of the International Advisory Board, CyberLaw Research Program at Hebrew University in Israel.

Ms. Hathaway developed the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI), a unique methodology for evaluating and measuring the level of preparedness for certain cybersecurity risks at the national level. It is sparking international discussion and inspiring global action to address the economic erosion caused by cyber insecurity. The CRI methodology serves as an independent baseline
assessment of a country’s programs and capabilities and diagnoses where gaps may exist in the country’s intent to becoming cyber ready. She has published country profiles on France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and the United States. She has collected data on over 125 countries and is working with the ITU, NATO, and the OAS to propagate the methodology’s use. She made the methodology available to the public and translated it into all UN languages. The Cyber Readiness Index 2.0 can be found here: http://www.potomacinstitute.org/academic-centers/cyber-readiness-index.

Ms. Hathaway served in two Presidential administrations where she spearheaded the Cyberspace Policy Review for President Barak Obama and led the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative for President George W. Bush. She built a broad coalition from within the Executive Branch for two Presidents, developing a cybersecurity strategy covering unprecedented scope
and scale that will now facilitate revolutionary improvements for the United States to secure and defend its critical national infrastructures. She developed and created a unified cross-agency budget submission for FY 2008 and for 2009-13, assembling disparate funding sources into a coherent, integrated program. One of the single largest intelligence programs of the Bush
administration, the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative has been carried forward by the Obama administration. She received the National Intelligence Reform Medal, September 2009 and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation, December 2011 for her leadership.

Ms. Hathaway has extensive commercial experience too. Having served on the board of directors for three public companies and three non-profit organizations, and as a strategic advisor to a number of public and private companies, Ms. Hathaway brings her clients a unique  combination of policy and technical expertise, as well as board room experience that allows her to help clients better understand the intersection of government policy, developing technological and industry trends, and economic drivers that impact acquisition and business development strategy in this field.

Ms. Hathaway has a unique understanding of the problems and solutions and publishes regularly on cybersecurity matters affecting companies and countries. Most of her articles can be found at the following websites:  http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/2132/melissa_hathaway.html and https://ctm.columbia.edu/people/melissa-hathaway.

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