The Balance of Control and Vulnerability: Cyber and Nuclear Risks

Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider joins us to discuss her article, "Cyber Operations and Nuclear Stability: Networked Instability." Moving beyond Hollywood analogies and pop-culture fears, Schneider argues that common understandings of how cyber operations impact nuclear stability are often misguided.

Throughout the conversation, she unpacks three specific pathways to escalation—deliberate, inadvertent, and accidental—and applies percolation theory to explain how the structure of nuclear networks dictates their vulnerability. Schneider explores the critical trade-offs between centralization, efficiency, and resilience, warning that as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) networks become more entangled with artificial intelligence, the risks of data manipulation increase.

Hosts: Sheena Chestnut Greitens & Ryan Vest

Producer: Jordan Morning