Code and Country

Episode 20: Craig Newmark, Craigslist Founder and Philanthropist

In this episode of Code and Country, Ian L. Paterson speaks with Craig Newmark, Craigslist founder and philanthropist, about his $200 million commitment to U.S. cybersecurity. Craig outlines his vision for "cyber civil defense"—a World War II-style mobilization where every American helps protect against nation-state threats like China's Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon campaigns targeting critical infrastructure. The discussion covers urgent vulnerabilities in small water systems, the Cyber Resilience Corps, and initiatives like PauseTakeNine.org. This episode offers security leaders and policymakers a roadmap for collective defense against today's cyber threats.

Ep: 19 Michael Daniel, President and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance

In this episode of Code and Country, Michael Daniel, President and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance and former White House Cybersecurity Coordinator, shares lessons from the frontlines of national cyber policy.  From shaping early government cyber budgets to confronting incidents like the Sony hack and OPM breach, Daniel reflects on how U.S. policy thinking matured in real time.  He outlines the evolution of ransomware, structural flaws in how cybersecurity risk is distributed, and why the future of cyber resilience depends on smarter collaboration between public and private actors.  Essential insights for CISOs, systems architects, and IT leaders facing today’s complex threat landscape.

Ep. 18: Dmitri Alperovitch, Co-founder Crowdstrike Part 2

In this episode of Code and Country, Ian Paterson continues his conversation with Dmitri Alperovitch, CrowdStrike co-founder, Silverado Policy Accelerator executive chairman, and author of World on the Brink. Dmitri explains how China’s Volt Typhoon campaign marks a shift from espionage to battlefield preparation by infiltrating water utilities, small telecom providers, and local power grids.  The discussion explores why Taiwan has become the central flashpoint in U.S.-China competition, and how cyber could shape the opening moves of a conflict. From disrupting mobilization to targeting sustainment systems like the F-35’s ODIN platform, cyber’s impact on logistics and readiness could prove decisive.  With candid insights on deterrence, logistics, and overlooked vulnerabilities in small utilities, this episode gives CISOs, IT leaders, and national security executives a front-row seat to the strategies shaping the future of nation-state cyber conflict.

Ep. 17: Dmitri Alperovitch, Co-founder Crowdstrike Part 1

In this episode of Code and Country, Ian Paterson sits down with Dmitri Alperovitch, CrowdStrike co-founder, Silverado Policy Accelerator executive chairman, and author of World on the Brink. Dmitri shares his journey from teenage encryption entrepreneur to leading some of the most consequential cyber investigations in history, including Operation Aurora. He discusses the evolution of cyber threats from spam to state-backed espionage, China’s Volt Typhoon campaign, and why Taiwan may be the “new Berlin” in a looming geopolitical standoff. With candid insights on deterrence, offensive cyber operations, and the role of private companies on the front lines, this conversation offers CISOs, IT leaders, and security architects a front-row seat to the strategies shaping national security in the 21st century.

Ep 16: Ollie Whitehouse, CTO NCSC

Ollie Whitehouse, CTO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), joins Code and Country to unpack what it really takes to secure a nation in the age of AI, ransomware, and quantum threats. Drawing from three decades of experience across public and private sectors, Whitehouse offers a candid assessment of the broken cybersecurity market, why the incentives are misaligned, and what meaningful defense should look like. He explores how governments and enterprises can better collaborate, the urgent need to catalog cryptographic dependencies, and why resilience must be built into business, not bolted on. Essential listening for CISOs, IT leaders, and architects navigating the new frontier of national-scale cyber defense.