This week, in a brief break from the Cyberlaw Podcast's indefinite hiatus, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dmitri Alperovitch about his new book, "World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century."
I start by asking Dmitri about his background in cybersecurity and geopolitics, from his immigration from the Soviet Union as a child to the founding of Crowdstrike to becoming an advisor to the Defense Department. Dmitri shares his journey, including his early start in the field working with his father and his role in investigating the Chinese hack of Google and other companies in 2010, which he named Operation Aurora. Dmitri opens his book with a chillingly realistic scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. He explains that this is not merely a hypothetical exercise, but a well-researched depiction based on his extensive discussions with Taiwanese leadership, military experts, and his own analysis of the terrain.
Then, we dive into the main themes of his book. Dmitri emphasizes the importance of deterring a potential conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, as he believes such a war would be catastrophic for the global economy and could potentially escalate to a nuclear conflict. To prevent this, he argues that the U.S. must employ a comprehensive strategy, leveraging military, economic, diplomatic, and technological deterrence.
Dmitri also highlights the structural economic problems facing China, such as the middle-income trap and a looming population collapse. Despite these challenges, he stresses that the U.S. must prioritize investments to deter conflict with China while maintaining its other global obligations.
We then discuss the importance of diversifying critical supply chains away from China and slowing down China's technological progress in areas like semiconductors. Dmitri suggests that the U.S. should collaborate with allies like Japan and the Netherlands to restrict China's access to advanced chip-making equipment. And, finally, I propose Dmitri take over an important role within the U.S. Government where he can best put his skills to use.
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