9 October 2017

Media release | Ben Flatgard announced as Alliance 21 Fellow

Ben Flatgard, founder and principle of Cycise LLC, has been appointed as an Alliance 21 Fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney (USSC) and will take up residency at both the USSC and the PerthUSAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia this week.

An expert in cybersecurity and former Director for Cybersecurity on the US National Security Council, Ben served in the Obama administration from 2009-2017 and has held positions in the Treasury and Commerce Departments as well as the White House.

The Alliance 21 Fellowship was established by the USSC, the PerthUSAsia Centre and the US State Department to foster policy-oriented learning between the United States and Australia.

“The Alliance 21 fellowships connect practitioners and scholars in Australia and the United States, helping them develop expertise and ideas that will inform future thinking about the relationship between the two countries,” USSC CEO Simon Jackman said.

During his time on the National Security Council, Ben led cyber policy development for the US government in areas relating to financial services, healthcare, consumer security and emerging technology.

Acting Director, Foreign Policy, Defence and Strategy Ashley Townshend said Ben’s experience in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure will be invaluable to the USSC’s research at the intersection of emerging technologies and national security.

“Ben Flatgard’s residency comes at a critical time as Australia continues to implement its cyber strategy and grapples with the challenges around critical infrastructure and emerging technology,” he said. “We will be working with him to develop a research project on Australia-US cyber cooperation with implications for the policy agenda in both countries.”

Ben will be based at the USSC and the PerthUSAsia Centre from October to December 2017.

Ben Flatgard

2017 Alliance 21 Fellow

Former Director of Cybersecurity on the White House’s National Security Council.
Professional background in cyber issues related to critical infrastructure, financial services and emerging technologies.
Based at United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre from October-December 2017.