On September 25th, the Bologna Institute for Policy Research hosted Christopher Painter, Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the first U.S. Coordinator for Cyber Issues, for a seminar on cyberdiplomacy. Painter argued that cyberspace is no longer a niche concern for technicians but a central arena of power where national security, foreign policy and diplomacy converge.

Painter opened by mapping the threat environment. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran remain the dominant state actors, each with different motivations ranging from espionage to coercion to financial gain. He noted that criminal groups, often tolerated or supported by states, are critical players, with ransomware attacks exposing how digital intrusions directly endanger public services. Campaigns such as China's Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon illustrated how espionage has expanded into prepositioning inside critical infrastructure, a tactic that blurs the line between intelligence collection and disruption. Yet Painter rejected the notion of a stand-alone "cyber war," emphasizing that even in Ukraine, cyber operations have been impactful but remain subordinate to kinetic force.

The core of his lecture focused on the rise of cyberdiplomacy as a distinct field. Painter recalled the 2011 establishment of the State Department's cyber office, which he helped launch to integrate digital issues into mainstream diplomacy. Since then, over 50 countries have created similar structures, reflecting a shared recognition that cyber policy cannot be siloed from broader geopolitical competition. He pointed to U.S.-led initiatives, including coordinated demarches against Iranian denial-of-service attacks to the multinational attribution of the Sony Pictures hack to North Korea, as proof that diplomatic tools can meaningfully shape cyber behavior. The Counter Ransomware Initiative, now uniting 65 states, demonstrates the value of collective action in a domain where no country can act alone.

Painter also examined efforts to set rules of the road. He described the breakthrough recognition that international law applies in cyberspace, followed by UN processes that established voluntary norms such as prohibiting peacetime attacks on critical infrastructure and refraining from targeting emergency response teams. But he warned that norms are only as strong as the consequences for violating them. Unlike nuclear deterrence, which rests on the threat of overwhelming retaliation, cyber deterrence requires coalitions willing to impose real costs through sanctions, coordinated attribution, and diplomatic pressure.

Looking forward, Painter highlighted two priorities: building capacity in developing states and managing the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence. Many governments still lack strategies, legal frameworks, or institutions to defend themselves, leaving them vulnerable and creating weak links in the global system. Meanwhile, adversaries are already experimenting with AI-enabled attacks, adding speed and scale to existing threats. For Painter, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: cyberspace is young enough that today's diplomats can still shape its norms and governance.

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hosted by Professor Renaud Dehousse


Christopher Painter is a globally recognized leader on cyber policy, cyber diplomacy, cybersecurity and combatting cybercrime.

Painter has been at the vanguard of cyber issues for over 27 years, first as a federal prosecutor handling some of the most high-profile cyber cases in the U.S., then as a senior official at the US Department of Justice, the FBI, the White House National Security Council and, finally, as the world's first cyber diplomat at the US Department of State. Among many other things, he served as a commissioner on the Global Commission for the Stability of Cyberspace and had been involved with the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise since its launch in 2015, e.g. chairing the GFCE Working Group on Cyber Security Policy & Strategy.

Painter is a frequent speaker on cyber issues, frequently is interviewed and quoted in the media and has testified on numerous occasions to US Congressional committees. He has received a number of awards and honors including Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, the RSA Security Conference Public Policy Award and the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service. He received his BA from Cornell University and JD from Stanford Law School.