Herbert Lin

Herb Lin

Herbert Lin

  • Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation
  • Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security, Hoover Institution

CISAC
Stanford University
Encina Hall, C236
Stanford, CA 94305-6165

650-497-8600 (voice)

Biography

Dr. Herb Lin is senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security at the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford University.  His research interests relate broadly to policy-related dimensions of cybersecurity and cyberspace, and he is particularly interested in the use of offensive operations in cyberspace as instruments of national policy and in the security dimensions of information warfare and influence operations on national security.  In addition to his positions at Stanford University, he is Chief Scientist, Emeritus for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, where he served from 1990 through 2014 as study director of major projects on public policy and information technology, and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar and Senior Fellow in Cybersecurity (not in residence) at the Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies in the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University; and a member of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In 2016, he served on President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.  Prior to his NRC service, he was a professional staff member and staff scientist for the House Armed Services Committee (1986-1990), where his portfolio included defense policy and arms control issues. He received his doctorate in physics from MIT.

Avocationally, he is a longtime folk and swing dancer and a lousy magician. Apart from his work on cyberspace and cybersecurity, he is published in cognitive science, science education, biophysics, and arms control and defense policy. He also consults on K-12 math and science education.

publications

Journal Articles
March 2023

Where the New National Cybersecurity Strategy Differs From Past Practice

Author(s)
cover link Where the New National Cybersecurity Strategy Differs From Past Practice
Blogs
February 2023

Reducing Government Overclassification of National Security Information

Author(s)
cover link Reducing Government Overclassification of National Security Information
Working Papers
April 2020

A Research Agenda for Cyber Risk and Cyber Insurance

Author(s)
cover link A Research Agenda for Cyber Risk and Cyber Insurance

In The News

Biden Cybersecurity
Commentary

Where the New National Cybersecurity Strategy Differs From Past Practice

If there was once a time when it was reasonable to expect end users (people who are not technical wizards) to manage their own cybersecurity, that time has long since passed.
cover link Where the New National Cybersecurity Strategy Differs From Past Practice
National Security Agency Headquarters
Commentary

Reducing Government Overclassification of National Security Information

Recent disclosures that President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence stored classified documents at home have shined a spotlight on what many people believe to be excessive government classification of information.
cover link Reducing Government Overclassification of National Security Information
Brazil Protest
Commentary

Brazil, US show that secure elections require agreement – not just cybersecurity and clear ballot records

On Jan. 8, 2023, after Lula had been in office for a week, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, including right-wing militants, attacked key government buildings, including the building that houses the national Congress.
cover link Brazil, US show that secure elections require agreement – not just cybersecurity and clear ballot records