National Security Law Today

<p>This week, we revisit Elisa’s conversation with Margaret Hu, Professor of Law at William &amp; Mary, and Davi Ottenheimer, Vice President of Trust and Digital Ethics at Inrupt, to examine the vulnerabilities embedded in our digital footprints. Together, they discuss microtargeting, the exploitation of personal data, and how a stronger federal data privacy framework could better protect individuals, institutions, and public trust.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/mhu05.php">Margaret Hu</a> is the Taylor Reveley Research Professor and Professor of Law, and Director of the Digital Democracy Lab, at William &amp; Mary Law School</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YP71nB5d6tmmZYerr33mAhCIV1u11tUz/view?usp=share_link">Davi Ottenheimer</a> is Vice President of Trust and Digital Ethics at Inrupt</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://events.americanbar.org/event/7d16dbb7-d334-4973-a5f5-cefbe2fa2ece/summary"><strong>Register</strong></a>: Luncheon program featuring former DOJ Assistant Attorneys General for National Security – June 4th at 12PM, at the University Club in Washington DC</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@NationalSecurityLawTodayPod">Subscribe to our Youtube</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000669956704">Ep. 340, Unchecked AI and the Exploitation of Personal Data: National Security Implications with Margaret Hu and Davi Ottenheimer (Part 2)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000527506461">Ep. 179, Algorithms – Who's in Control? with Alex Stamos (Part 1)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000528281300">Ep. 180, Algorithms – Who’s in Control? with Alex Stamos (Part 2)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/russias-war-of-attrition-massive-losses-and-tiny/id1276946676?i=1000754874789">Ep. 411, Russia’s War of Attrition: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains with Seth Jones</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drone-disruption-how-autonomous-systems-are/id1276946676?i=1000761367303">Ep. 416, The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.csub.edu/its/security/california-sb-1386.shtml#:~:text=California%20SB%201386%20%2D%20Personal%20Information%3A%20Privacy&amp;text=Under%20the%20law%2C%20covered%20parties,acquired%20by%20an%20unauthorized%20person.">California SB 1386, Overview</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://gdpr-info.eu/">The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/">The EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Overview</a></li></ul>

<p>AI and the modern information ecosystem are making reality harder to verify, and easier to weaponize. This week, Elisa Poteat is joined by Gary Corn, Program Director and Adjunct Professor of Technology, Law and Security at American University Washington College of Law, to discuss his recent article, “<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&amp;context=research"><em>Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.</em></a>” Together, they explore how cognitive warfare has been used throughout history, how deepfakes and synthetic media could accelerate its effects, and what international humanitarian law can, and cannot, do to address the risks AI poses to civilians, truth, and modern conflict.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.american.edu/wcl/faculty/gcorn.cfm">Professor Gary Corn</a> is Director of the Technology, Law &amp; Security Program and an adjunct professor of cyber and national security law and the law of armed conflict at American University Washington College of Law.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&amp;context=research">Corn, Gary P. “Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.” <em>American University Washington College of Law</em>, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132-h/132-h.htm">Sun-tzu. <em>The Art of War</em>. Translated by Lionel Giles, Project Gutenberg, 1994.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4CGYNsoW2iD7QKVp9U-TffXSYtWB0zLo">Video Series: <em>Operation InfeKtion</em>. <em>The New York Times Opinion</em>, 2018.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/external/doc/en/assets/files/other/law1_final.pdf">The Law of Armed Conflict Overview</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-4">U.S. Constitution, Article IV: Relationships Between the States. <em>Legal Information Institute</em>, Cornell Law School.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://lieber.westpoint.edu/about/team/profile/?smid=6283">Gary Corn Articles of War Profile. <em>Lieber Institute for Law &amp; Warfare</em>, United States Military Academy at West Point.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000669956704">NSLT, Ep. 339, "Unchecked AI and the Exploitation of Personal Data: National Security Implications with Margaret Hu and Davi Ottenheimer (Part 1)"</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000754874789">NSLT, Ep. 411, "Russia’s War of Attrition: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains with Seth Jones"</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000761367303">NSLT, Ep. 416, "The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi"</a></li></ul>

<p>As AI becomes more deeply embedded in government and national security systems, one question grows harder to ignore: can these tools actually be secured? This week, Elisa is joined by Disesdi Shoshana Cox, CEO and Head of Research at Bermuda Hundred Strategies, to examine the cybersecurity risks behind AI integration. Together, they discuss whether AI models can be corrected after harmful inputs, how threat modeling can help secure national security use cases, and why prompt injections pose a serious risk as AI systems become more widely deployed across government.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://shoshana.cx/">Shoshana Cox</a> is the CEO and Head of Research at Bermuda Hundred Strategies and an AI security architect, researcher, and strategist whose work focuses on AI threat modeling, MLSecOps, and defensive architectures for mission-critical systems.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13905972">Cox, S. Securing AIML Systems in the Age of Information Warfare. Critical Alliance, Apr. 2022</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/artifacts/agentic-ai-red-teaming-guide#">Cox, S. <em>Agentic AI Red Teaming Guide</em>. Cloud Security Alliance, 28 May 2025</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://disesdi.substack.com/">Shoshana's Substack</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://disesdi.substack.com/subscribe?utm_source=menu&amp;simple=true&amp;next=https%3A%2F%2Fdisesdi.substack.com%2F">Subscribe to Angles of Attack Newsletter</a></li></ul>

<p>AI is unlocking new speed and power in biological research, creating opportunities for medical breakthroughs while raising new questions about oversight. This week, Elisa sits down with Doni Bloomfield, Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University, to discuss his recent report, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aeb2689"><em>Biological Data Governance in an Age of AI</em></a>, and the growing risks of training AI models on sensitive viral and genetic information. Together, they explore how AI-powered virus research could shape future treatments, while examining the biosecurity risks of open scientific access and what thoughtful oversight might require.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.fordham.edu/school-of-law/faculty/directory/full-time/doni-bloomfield/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Doni Bloomfield</a> is an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham Law School whose work focuses on intellectual property, biosecurity, national security law, and health law.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aeb2689">Bloomfield, Doni et al. “Biological data governance in an age of AI.” Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 391,6785 (2026): 558-561</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://blog.stephenturner.us/p/tiered-access-aixbio-governance">Turner, Stephen D. “Tiered Access for AIxBio Governance.” <em>Paired Ends</em>, 9 Feb. 2026.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/the-adolescence-of-technology#2-a-surprising-and-terrible-empowerment">Amodei, Dario. “The Adolescence of Technology: Confronting and Overcoming the Risks of Powerful AI.” <em>Dario Amodei</em>, Jan. 2026.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://allofus.nih.gov/">NIH All of Us Research Program</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf">The White House. <em>America’s AI Action Plan</em>. Washington, DC: The White House, July 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://publicportal-api.alappeals.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/47683AFC-2F85-469D-8562-9DCA094BB680/docketentrydocuments/D95CDD15-7428-4CC9-8389-3CC27AC88089">Supreme Court of Alabama. <em>Laurie Ibach and Mark Stewart v. Bruce Stewart</em>, No. SC-2025-0106, Apr. 24, 2026.</a></li></ul>

<p>As artificial intelligence accelerates, questions about its origins—and underlying assumptions—are becoming harder to ignore. This week, Elisa sits down with filmmaker Valerie Veatch to explore her latest documentary, <em>Ghost in the Machine</em>, which traces the intellectual roots of AI back to the eugenics movement. Together, they examine how these early ideologies may still echo in today’s AI systems, what it means for a workforce increasingly shaped by automation, and how unchecked technological progress can lead to unintended consequences.</p><p>Valerie Veatch is a writer, director, and producer of documentary films, including <em>Me @ the Zoo</em>, <em>Love Child</em>, and her latest release, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://notaidoc.com/trailer"><em>Ghost in the Machine</em></a>.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/Resisting-AI-Anti-fascist-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1529213509">McQuillan, Dan. <em>Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence</em>. Bristol University Press, 2022.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/AI-Fight-Techs-Create-Future/dp/0063418568">Bender, Emily M., and Alex Hanna. <em>The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want</em>. Harper, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/More-Everything-Forever-Overlords-Humanity/dp/1541619595">Becker, Adam. <em>More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity</em>. Basic Books, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/Diversity-Myth-Multiculturalism-Political-Intolerance/dp/0945999763">Sacks, David O., and Peter Thiel. <em>The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus</em>. Independent Institute, 1998.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thequantuminsider.com/2026/03/31/q-day-just-got-closer-three-papers-in-three-months-are-rewriting-the-quantum-threat-timeline/">“Q-Day Just Got Closer: Three Papers in Three Months Are Rewriting the Quantum Threat Timeline.” <em>The Quantum Insider</em>, 31 Mar. 2026</a></li></ul>