As our world is increasingly powered by digital communications and information systems, cybersecurity is a growing concern in our lives. 聽involves the defense of computers, operations, and data from unauthorized access by hackers or foreign organizations and governments. Combining her passions for technology and foreign policy, Emmeline Nettles (IAFS 鈥�24) spent last summer focusing on cybersecurity and the policies that help protect national and international networks.
Nettles, an international affairs major also studying Chinese and Creative Technology and Design, was an intern with the聽聽She worked as part of a research team, the聽. Her main projects focused on cyber education and reporting vulnerabilities, such as software bugs, to authorities. 鈥淲ithin the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, improving cybersecurity norms and understanding of cyber hygiene are as valuable to small businesses as they are to the White House,鈥� said Nettles.聽
This internship was part of a longstanding interest in cybersecurity issues. Last year, 聽(IAFS '10) created and coached a CU Boulder team of students for the Atlantic Council鈥檚聽. Nettles joined the team, and they went on to take third place in the聽. Not only did Bate become a mentor to Nettles, but she also introduced her to the Young Global Professionals internship program.
As part of her weekly internship duties, her team met regularly to work on research together. When not in meetings, she was writing, finding data, and web designing. For her internship, Nettles traveled to Washington D.C. for a week, living in the city and working at a think tank. 鈥淚n D.C., I was a co-lead on a big project and got to network with some really awesome individuals,鈥� she explained. The culmination of her internship was being an author on the report ""
One of the biggest takeaways of her summer internship was what she witnessed from her professional colleagues: to be truly successful in this career path is to be passionate about the work being done.聽鈥淎nyone can be a part of the cybersecurity field and, if you are interested, you really should be a part of it,鈥� she commented. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be able to hack into the NSA to be a valuable contributor to this field. It is multifaceted: from open-source intelligence to critical infrastructure security, there鈥檚 something for anyone that is interested in it.鈥澛�
As she continues at CU Boulder, Nettles plans to do another Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge team competition and write her honors thesis on Chinese data collection on mobile payment systems. After graduating, Nettles plans to apply for a research scholar program focused on cyber policy and international relations.