In Conversation with Dr Melanie Garson

Dr Garson is a cyber and tech geopolitics policy specialist and public speaker who connects the dots between new and emerging tech and its potential impact on security, foreign policy, diplomacy and the world order. She is an Associate Professor in International Security in the Department of Political Science at University College London where she teaches her flagship course “From Cyberwarfare to Robots: The Future of Conflict in the Digital Age.” She worked for four years as the Cyber Policy and Tech Geopolitics Lead at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and is also a lawyer and mediator. Melanie regularly provides commentary in on geopolitics and tech in podcasts, webinars and at major media outlets including Bloomberg, BBC, Sky, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, France 24, and DeutscheWelle.

What was your path to where you are now?

My path has been very squiqqly. My first degree was in languages, I then did a Masters in Law and Diplomacy, following that I did my law conversion, and finally landed on my PhD.

I have had all sorts of jobs along the way including speechwriting, guest relations in hotels, programme management in NGO’s or not-for-profits, being a lawyer, academia and now a combination of academia and policy. By the time this goes to print I will have just started a new position. I often say that some of my most recent work like in cyber policy literally didn’t exist when I first started.

What got you into your field of study in the first place?

I was always interested in international relations and international security. But my interest in the impact of new technologies on international relations started when I did my Masters and took some courses from a brilliant professor Lee McKnight on how countries build innovation systems, and internet economics. This was where I really started thinking about the technologies themselves as well as the players behind them. It was always at the back of my mind but once I started teaching, in the wake of the cyber attack in Estonia in 2007, that was when it all came together for me and I started really focusing on how new technologies were altering our practice of international relations and reshaping balance of power.

What are you currently working on?

Well, I am always juggling several things at once and the world of tech and geopolitics is never quiet. I have for the last 18 months been working a lot on the future of defence and thinking about how we innovate defence technologies particularly in the UK. The new shifts and commitments to defence expenditure in the UK and Europe now makes it an exciting time.
I am also always thinking about the impact of geopolitics on the security of our communications infrastructure both from physical threats such as accidents to subsea cables to the impact of threats to withdraw satellite provision in Ukraine. What does this teach us for our notions of resilience and how to both countries and companies have to prepare.

Where do you see cyber field going in the next 5–10 years. How do you think cybersecurity will evolve in the next decade?

I think that the cyber field will have a renaissance over the next 5-10 years. Currently AI is having it's moment and that is all everyone wants to talk about, but there is a fundamental assumption that the communications infrastructure that it is built on is just there – but it all needs to be secured and those needs are just going to get greater as more and more technologies are integrated into our daily lives from wearables, use of AI agents in our processes, to physical or embodied AI.
Cyber will also have the challenge of integrating AI to become better at protecting systems but also protecting the AI processes themselves. It is a massively expanding surface area.

Making sure that these fundamental processes as resilient are going to be our greatest challenge as whilst they are our strength they also have multiple Achilles heels that malicious actors can use to destabilise our defence and societies. That can be in the information layer with accelerated influence campaigns to the manipulation of the huge amounts of data that is being collected to disruption of the cyber-physical infrastructure that facilitates it. It's going to be busy, unpredictable and at great pace.

How important is an interdisciplinary approach in studying modern security issues, especially when it involves integrating technology, politics, and international law?

I think it is critical. Modern security issues are complex problems involving multiple systems that interact. No complex problem can be solved by just one group of thinkers. As more technologies are integrated into our upgraded approaches to defence and security, the types of people needed to facilitate those processes, recognise risks, as well as being able to see the big picture on our economy, diplomacy and society is massively increased. Any type of security is a team endeavour – a team of people who all think the same will never succeed against a team of people who can tackle a challenge from multiple angles.

As a woman in your profession, have you experienced any unique challenges, and how do you think the industry has evolved in terms of supporting women?

I think that every woman has encountered situations at every level in her career in which she has been treated in a way that overtly or covertly is aimed at diminishing her. I think that the industry has made great strides in supporting younger women in accessing careers but I think that support in all professions tails off for more senior women. I think that is the reason we are seeing so many networks pop up at the moment, as many of mid-level and senior women are seeing a gap in the support in their workplaces across all professions.

Do you think mentorship plays a crucial role in the success of women in your field? If so, how can we foster more mentorship opportunities?

Absolutely. In fact every time I go to an event run for women in the profession I always return incredibly uplifted and inspired by the amazing women that I meet both older and younger than myself. Our stories whilst each different often have similar hallmarks and many of us are coming up against the same challenges, whether that is within the workplace or within ourselves. Even women at high levels are finding gaps in support networks, so I think the more groups that we have where we can build our networks and share our challenges in a non-judgmental environment are crucial.

I would also argue that mentorship does not have to just come from women, but men can also choose to recognise the imbalance in our system and try to make sure that women of all levels breaking into our field are supported.

What was your motivation behind your newsletter “Get into Cyber & Tech Policy”, which focuses on weekly job listings for those who are looking to enter the field?

My newsletter really grew out of the weekly job postings that I would send to students on my Cyberwarfare to Robots course to try to show them the breadth of opportunities that could be out there for the skills and interests they have developed during the course. I tell my students to be really open-minded and think widely. Particularly straight out of studies, there are no wrong steps. The working world today is a lot more-fluid and you can take your skills and talent between sectors a lot more easily so they need to cast a wide-net. I wanted to show them how wide they could start.

I originally just had it on the class Instagram but them some of my former students who weren’t using Instagram as much asked me to do it on LinkedIn. I had also been toying with the idea of starting a substack to share some of my thoughts regularly on what I am seeing in our ecosystem. Whilst the substack is still in the making, this gave me the outlet to do both together and the newsletter was born.

What advice would you like to give early career starters/ researchers and PhD students that you wish someone had said to you?

I was very lucky as I had some incredible teachers and professors in my life who always helped me believe in my potential. I sometimes find that once one starts working, that belief can be eroded slightly and it can be difficult to see in the grind of daily activity especially when a job becomes unfulfilling. So, my advice would be don’t put yourselves in a box, no job is forever, and don’t be afraid to make a change when you find that you have more to give but don’t have the space to be able to give it. When you find that you can no longer grow and thrive in a position, then remember there are other places that are probably looking for someone with your unique skillset where you can give fully and reach new heights.

A big thank you to Dr. Melanie Garson for sharing her expertise and taking the time to answer all our questions.

Subscribe to her Newsletter "Get into cyber & tech policy" and follow her on LinkedIn and X.