National Security and Cyber: 18-Lecture Series

IT requirements

Joining the series online

We will be using Zoom for the livestreaming of these lecture series. You’ll be able to see and hear the speaker, and to submit questions via the Zoom interface as well as using your microphone/camera during the Q&A. Joining instructions will be sent out prior to the start date. We recommend that you join the sessions at least 10-15 minutes prior to the start time – just as you might arrive a bit early at our lecture theatre for an in-person event.

Please note that these lecture series will not be recorded.

Recommended reading

Perlroth, N., To Catch a Thief (Rubrik Podcasts, 2025) 

Stoll, C., The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Cyber Espionage (Pocket Books, 1989 [Reissue 2005]) 

Healey, J., Cyber Effects in Warfare: Categorizing the Where, What, and Why (Texas National Security Review, 2024) 

Smeets, M., Ransom War: How Cyber Crime Became a Threat to National Security (Hurst, 2025) 

Google Threat Intelligence, Cybercrime: A Multifaceted National Security Threat (2025) 

Jarvis, C., Cyber Terrorism: How Extremists use Hacking for Propaganda, Espionage and Sabotage. (Hurst, 2027)

Martin, K. et al, Cyber Security Foundations: Fundamentals, Technology and Society (Kogan Page, 3 March 2025)

Jarvis, C., Crypto Wars: The Fight for Privacy in the Digital Age (CRC Press, 2021)

Jarvis, C., Cypherpunk ideology: objectives, profiles, and influences (1992–1998) (Internet Histories, 2021)

Programme details

Series 1: National Security and Cyber: Hackers, Artificial Intelligence and Surveillance

Tuesday 27 October 

Hackers: An Origin Story
This lecture charts the genesis of hackers, from their mid-twentieth century origins to present incarnations. Our exploration starts in the 1950s at MIT, where the earliest hackers originated. We follow the movement through 1970s phone-phreakers, 1990s cypherpunks, and hacktivists who emerged at the millennium’s turn. Finally, we explore the diverse community of hackers today. 

Tuesday 3 November 

Anatomy of Hacking
This lecture dissects how attackers breach networks and achieve their objectives (e.g. disruption, data theft). We explore the ‘Cyber Kill Chain’, a conceptual model of the hacking process. Taking each step in turn, we detail the considerations that hackers must make to avoid detection and infiltrate target networks. At the end of this lecture, you will have a conceptual understanding of the foundations of hacking. 

Tuesday 10 November 

Artificial Intelligence and Hacking: A Dangerous Accelerant?    
Discover the impact of artificial intelligence on offensive cyber. In this online lecture, we survey how large language models (LLMs) are being used by malicious actors to aid their hacking operations. We consider the availability of such models, guardrail circumvention, and the dual-use nature of synthetic media (deepfakes). Finally, we examine the possibility of fully autonomous offensive cyber capabilities. At the end of this lecture you will understand how rapid AI evolutions are impacting hacking. 

Tuesday 17 November 

Cyber Security: Defending the Kingdom  
This lecture investigates how cyber security is pursued within a mutating political and technical environment. We will examine the primary challenges to managing cyber security, firstly we will survey the threat landscape before continuing to study some of the attack methodologies malicious actors use. Finally, we will consider how individuals, businesses, and nation-states can protect themselves. 

Tuesday 24 November 

Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Defence: A Game Changer?  
This lecture examines the impact of artificial intelligence on cyber defence. We will start by considering the long history of cyber security companies using AI to detect malicious content, before considering the general benefits of AI upon the industry. Then we will assess to what degree capabilities such as behaviour and network analytics as well as vulnerability analysis has benefitted from AI. Finally, we will consider agentic approaches and their impacts on cyber defence, in particular activities within the security operations centre. 

Tuesday 1 December 

Surveillance and The Crypto Wars: The End of Privacy? 
This lecture chronicles the conflict between citizens and states concerning unrestricted encryption access. We start with a brief overview of surveillance before examining the Crypto Wars, the subject of Dr Jarvis’ first book. We will step through each of the three ‘wars’ to understand the key ‘battles’, including the Data Encryption Standard debates, the Key-escrow policy, and the impact of the Edward Snowden disclosures. Finally, we consider the future of encryption policy.  

Series 2: National Security and Cyber: Crime and Terrorism

Tuesday 12 January 

The Dark Web: A Gangster’s Paradise?

This lecture explores the Dark Web’s mechanics, and how the cyber underworld collaborates. We analyse the history and architecture of the Dark Web (Tor), before considering its uses, ranging from protecting the privacy of individuals’ legal browsing to enabling the uncensored browsing of dissidents within autocratic countries. Finally, we take a tour of a criminal marketplace to understand how it functions and creates trust amongst users. At the conclusion of this lecture, you will have a foundational understanding of the Dark Web and its history. 

Tuesday 19 January 

Cybercrime: Illegality in the Digital World 

This lecture considers how criminals use hacking for financial gain. First, we explore the primary attack types of data theft, extortion and fraud. We will then study how some nation-states use hacking to help finance their governments, before we examine the Dark Web ecosystem, a critical enabler for global cybercrime. Finally, we consider some of the options for countering criminal hackers. 

Tuesday 26 January

Ransomware: Disrupting Critical National Infrastructure

This lecture starts by travelling back to the 1980s, to study the origins of Ransomware. We trace its evolution through to the early 2010s and analyse the catalysts that turned it from a niche technical problem to an endemic threat to critical national infrastructure. We examine the tradecraft attackers employ, before considering the scale and impacts of the problem. Then, we assess the variables in deciding whether to capitulate to a ransom demand. Finally, we explore available countermeasures. 

Tuesday 2 February

Cyber Terrorism: A New Era of Extremism  

This lecture first considers how online methods have enabled extremists to conduct traditional activities such as recruitment, financing, communications, open-source intelligence, and propaganda at new scales. Then, we focus on how hacking has introduced new opportunities within fields such as disinformation, espionage and sabotage.  

Tuesday 9 February

Seduction and Secrets: Extremism Honey Traps and Hacking  

This lecture explores how extremists use social engineering to trick targets into downloading malware. We will study how extremists, who typically operate with lesser skills than organised crime groups and nation-state threat actors, embrace the manipulation of human emotions to breach the devices of their targets. We will examine how extremists create online honey traps, by posing as attractive young men or women, and approaching their targets via social media with the suggestion of a romantic relationship. You will learn how this leads to eventual intelligence extraction from the target, and the countermeasures that are being taken by victims. 

Tuesday 16 February

Lethal Cyber Terrorism: Murder via the Internet?  

This lecture assesses whether terrorists can damage property, or harm people, exclusively using cyber. We will study the potential for extremists to acquire the necessary skills and resources to conduct lethal cyber operations. We examine the IRLPGS model created by Dr Jarvis to assess the various ways through which extremists could gain these capabilities, before assessing the likelihood of each potential acquisition pathway.  

Series 3: National Security and Cyber: Espionage and Warfare

Tuesday 27 April 
Attributing Cyber Covert Actions: Unmasking the Hackers 

This lecture explores the challenges of assigning cyber operations to their originators. We will examine what attribution is, why it is necessary, and how it is conducted. We will study attribution analysis frameworks, and how the process of public attribution occurs. Finally, we will explore how threat entities create false flags to misdirect investigators, and even to frame third parties. At the end of this lecture, you will understand the politics and practicalities of attribution.  

Tuesday 4 May 
Cyber Espionage: A New Age of Spying? 

This lecture examines the history of cyber-espionage from the earliest known cases in the 1980s to the vast capabilities operated by today’s military and intelligence agencies. We analyse the components of a nation-state cyber-espionage programme, from the people beyond the keyboards, to the organisational processes that deliver high-calibre campaigns. Finally, we investigate the primary applications of cyberespionage, including hack-and-leak operations, strategic intelligence acquisition, and the suppression of dissent. 

Tuesday 11 May
Cyber Espionage: Agent Running, Counter-Intelligence & Supply-Chain Exploitation 

This lecture examines how digital technologies have affected agent running across all stages of the SADRAT framework (Spotting, Assessing, Developing, Recruiting, Agent Running, and Termination). In particular, it considers how hacking techniques can complement traditional agent-running operations. It then analyses how human intelligence can support and enable hacking activities. Next, the lecture explores the impact of digital technologies on counter-intelligence. Finally, it examines the potential of cyber espionage targeting supply chains, which have proven to be a highly effective attack vector for large-scale breaches that may yield significant intelligence gains. 

Tuesday 18 May
Cyber Proliferation: Hacking for Sale  
This lecture surveys how cyber espionage capabilities have spread to numerous countries through commercial transaction. We first explore the conditions that created the market demand for private hacking products and services. We then analyse a contract from a commercial surveillance vendor to understand how hacking transactions are structured. Finally, we explore the instruments that are being deployed in an attempt to limit proliferation. 

Tuesday 25 May 
Cyber Warfare: The Future of Combat? 

This lecture first considers the history of cyber warfare, stretching back to the first Gulf War when US special forces considered using cyber sabotage to disable Iraqi air defences. We then study cyber warfare using three pillars: influence, espionage, sabotage. We consider how these pillars are employed before war, when they can contribute to pre-conflict advantage, and during the war, when they may aid conventional operations in numerous ways. 

Tuesday 1 June
Countering Cyber Threats  

This lecture analyses how states counter cyber threats, from criminal prosecutions to hacking the hackers. We start with reviewing the necessity of countering digital threats, before examining the core considerations in doing so. We then step through the portfolio of countermeasures whilst analysing each of the escalatory risks of each option. By the end of this lecture, you will have a thorough awareness of the measures that nation-states can deploy to attempt to counter cyber threats. 

How and when to watch

Please join the Zoom webinar in good time before the lectures to ensure that you have no connection problems. We recommend joining 10-15 minutes before the start time. Each lecture will last approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, followed by questions. 

Fees

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Payment

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

Dr Craig Jarvis

Craig is an independent academic specialising in national security and technology. He lectures at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Royal Holloway. His next book, ‘Cyber Terrorism: Extremism & Hacking’ will be published in 2026. Previous works include ‘CryptoWars: The Fight for Privacy in the Digital Age‘ and contributions to ‘Next Generation Enterprise Security‘. His research also appears in peer-reviewed journals, including ‘Intelligence and National Security’.
Craig holds a PhD in cybersecurity and history and has earned master’s degrees in international security, information security, and classical music, studying at Oxford, King’s College London, and Royal Holloway.
With extensive industry experience, his last permanent role was Chief Technology Officer at DXC Security, then the world’s largest security services provider. At DXC, he founded DXC Security Labs, spearheading advancements in cybersecurity research and development.

Craig remains deeply engaged with the private sector, particularly in finance, where he advises major banks and private equity firms on security strategy, architecture, and cyber due diligence. As a member of the Offensive Cyber Working Group’s College of Experts, he contributes to research and policy development in offensive cybersecurity. He is also the founding chair of the Geopolitics-Cyber Community of London Experts (GeoCyclone), an organisation bringing together business leaders, academics, and policy makers to share knowledge on national security and digital technologies.
He is currently studying Mandarin (HSK4).

Craig is active on LinkedIn, often posting details of upcoming courses and ongoing research.

Module code: O26P136DSL

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