Dr. Erica Borghard, a Frisch alumna who now serves as assistant professor in the Army Cyber Institute of the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as senior director of the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, visited two history classes at Yeshivat Frisch on November 21—Elana Lefkovitz’s “Crime and Punishment” and Nina Cohen’s “History of Your Lifetime” senior electives.

Dr. Borghard, who holds a PhD in political science from Columbia University, discussed why cybersecurity is so important in the United States and how adversaries of the United States use cyberspace to try to undermine the country’s strategic interests at a level below that of warfare. Dr. Borghard also discussed how the Internet differs in democracies like the United States versus countries like Russia and China. When the Internet was first invented, people thought it would be a medium that would help spread democracy and freedom; however, non-democratic states have used this same technology for surveillance and repression of their own people. The class also had the opportunity to discuss responsible behavior online, with students learning how their data is used and its implications.