Cybersecurity Policy Graduate Student Published in 'Journal of Science Policy & Governance'

Posted November 26, 2019

Ming "Sherry" Chen, a graduate student pursuing a Master's in Cybersecurity Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy, had her paper entitled "China’s Data Collection on US Citizens: Implications, Risks, and Solutions" published in the Journal of Science Policy & Governance.

Mings's paper investigates the major data breaches targeting the personal data of American citizens that have been linked to the Chinese government. Chen concludes that "Chinese intelligence services, namely the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Ministry of State Security (MSS), were complicit in the creation and use of this database," which refers to an internal database of information gathered from the data breaches. In addition, she details the MSS recruitment process for informants, and details more strategic targets, such as data broker companies, which could be targeted in future cyber attacks.

"What drew me into cybersecurity as a field of study is how necessary it is in almost everything we do," Chen said in a recent profile by the Georgia Tech Institute for Information Security and Privacy. "From healthcare IT to national security, it is critical that we understand and address threats and vulnerabilities inherent to cyberspace."

The School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.