On Campus

Session Date

July 27, 2025 - August 01, 2025

Application Deadline

June 02, 2025

Program Fee

$10,800

Faculty Chair

Jim Waldo

Program Director

Tatyana Schlehuber

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Program Fee: The program fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials and most meals
Executive Certificate: This program is a core program in the Public Policy and the Technology and Public Leadership concentrations. This program can also be used as a third program for any concentration in the Executive Certificate series.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): This program aligns with one or more Executive Core Qualifications.

Program Overview

As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, the Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy & Technology program provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and mitigating these risks. This week-long intensive course, led by Harvard's distinguished faculty, offers participants a unique opportunity to explore the critical intersection of cybersecurity policy and technology. Through lectures, case studies, and group discussions, participants will gain the skills needed to design and implement effective cybersecurity strategies that protect both organizational and national interests.

PROGRAM CURRICULUM

This intensive week-long program is led by a team of Harvard faculty members, policymakers, and leading practitioners in the field of cybersecurity, many of whom advise governments, agencies and industries around the world.

The Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy and Technology curriculum explores:

Technical and policy aspects of security, surveillance and conflict
Skills applicable to other situations in which policy and technology interact
Techniques of risk analysis and threat-modeling applicable to a broad set of problem

Lectures and case studies drawn from recent events will bring focus to issues at the intersection of cyber policy and technology. At the same time, group sessions will enable you to engage directly with the issues, solve problems and discuss how insights and cybersecurity measures can be applied in your own country or organization.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will:

Gain a deep understanding of the technical foundations of cyberspace and cybersecurity issues.
Develop strategies to counter emerging and future cyber threats.
Acquire tools to assess and formulate effective cybersecurity policies.
Enhance professional skills through collaborative group work and scenario-based learning.
Build a global network of cybersecurity professionals and policy experts.

Application Information

Cybersecurity is designed for a broad range of policy actors and technology experts from around the world who play strategic decision-making roles in both public and private organizations.

Recommended applicants include:

Technologists developing new applications and frameworks that will need to detect, withstand and counteract intrusion
Executives in city, state, and federal government agencies and the military involved in the oversight of technology and creation of policy
Business executives who need to balance an open environment for innovation with the protection of intellectual property
Private- and public-sector legal experts challenged with codifying the law and understanding its limits
Diplomatic officials and members of international governments working to establish accepted cybersecurity norms and establish treaties

No computer science background is required.

Faculty Chair Jim Waldo created the Cybersecurity online program curriculum to fit an interactive virtual format while maintaining the main objectives of the on-campus program: how policy and technology, together, can address critical threats of the cyber world. Both online and on-campus formats will include lectures and breakout group work that address technical and policy aspects of cybersecurity.

The intensive online program provides a more flexible format where you can apply concepts directly to your work while experiencing the rigor of Harvard remotely. The schedule includes 3-4 hours of live sessions each day. Access a sample online program schedule.
The on-campus program is an immersive and intense learning experience on Harvard’s historic Cambridge campus. During the week, you’ll experience lectures firsthand and connect with peers both in and outside of the classroom. The fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials, and most meals. Access a sample on-campus program schedule.

WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

“Harvard Kennedy School is a place where we can discuss and learn from each other. The best part is, this experience is not limited to what some of the amazing professors are teaching, but also what the cohort shares with each other.”

SINAN ERAYDIN, PRESIDENT, CYBERMAGUS LLC

Hear From the Faculty Chair

Professor Jim Waldo discusses the Harvard Kennedy School Executive online program, Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy and Technology.

Faculty & Research

Jim Waldo

Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, HKS; Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, SEAS

Scott Bradner

Consultant

Dan Geer

Computer Security Analyst and Risk Management Specialist

Andy Ellis

Chief Security Officer, Akamai

Ryan Ellis

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Northeastern University

Melissa Hathaway

President, Hathaway Global Strategies LLC

Susan Hennessey

Fellow in National Security in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution

Lucas Kello

Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Oxford University

Susan Landau

Bridge Professor of Cyber Security and Policy, Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Dr. Herbert Lin

Chief Scientist (Emeritus), Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council of the National Academies

Eric Rosenbach

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy

Bruce Schneier

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy

David E. Sanger

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Chief Washington Correspondent at The New York Times

Hear from Cybersecurity Alumni

Learn more about Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy and Technology from past participants of the program.

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