Podcast: Microsoft's Angela McKay on building global cybersecurity norms

Angela McKay, who runs Microsoft's public policy work on cybersecurity, and Elana Broitman from Greenberg Traurig’s Government Law & Policy Practice, join the latest edition of The Cybersecurity Podcast. 

Does your company need to buy insurance to protect against fallout from data breaches? What's the best way to encourage companies to do more than the bare minimum when it comes to securing their systems? And can the US government develop robust international norms of behavior to deter criminal hackers when its own digital defenses need improvement? 

We tackle all those questions and more in the latest edition of The Cybersecurity Podcast. 

"We do need to drive up the level of security across the government," said Angela McKay, who runs Microsoft's public policy work on cybersecurity, on the podcast. That in itself, Ms. McKay said, will help discourage hackers from trying to breach US government systems. "You make it harder to attack – or the valuable thing on the other end less valuable – that to me is a deterrent." 

Ms. McKay also talks about the importance of developing international norms for cyberspace, European privacy concerns, why she's disappointed women comprise only 10 percent of the cybersecurity workforce, and how Microsoft's own attitude – and reputation – for security has evolved over the years.

Elana Broitman, currently an attorney at Greenbert Traurig's Government Law and Policy Practice and a former Defense Department official, joins the podcast to discuss the benefits of having cyberinsurance, how the Pentagon should think about buying cybersecurity products and services, and bridging the trust gap between Washington and Silicon Valley.

The podcast is cohosted by Peter W. Singer, strategist at the New America think tank and author of "Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know," and Sara Sorcher, deputy editor of The Christian Science Monitor's Passcode. It is available for download on iTunes. You can find more information about the podcast on Passcode's long-form storytelling platform. Bookmark New America's SoundCloud page for new episodes or sign up for Passcode below. 

The last episode features White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel, who chats about the Obama administration's plans for sanctions to prevent online attacks, whether he's optimistic about the recent agreement between Washington and China to thwart cyberespionage, how the White House reacted to the massive Office of Personnel Management hack, and his push to increase the sharing of information between the government and private sector.

Mr. Daniel is joined by John McAfee, the security pioneer who just founded his own political party – the Cyber Party – and is running for President of the United States.