The Arizona Junior Fellows along with the Arizona State University School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership are collaborating with the American Enterprise Institute to host a panel on cybersecurity titled Cybersecurity and the Future. The event is sponsored by Global Market Innovators.

The focus of the panel will be to discuss how Arizona has adapted to new cybersecurity threats, how those efforts compare to other states and jurisdictions, and how the public and private sectors can work together to prevent cyberattacks and better protect consumer privacy.

National cybersecurity expert Klon Kitchen will join policymakers, business leaders, and university students and faculty for the event. Kitchen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has previously worked at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Joining Klon is Tim Roemer, the director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. Roemer recently led the effort to create the Cyber Command Center, which serves as the state’s headquarters for cybersecurity operations.

Gregg Davis, the president of Global Market Innovators, and Brian Elisco, the CEO of Tenet-Abrazo will also join the panel. Davis and Elisco will be bringing the business leaders’ perspectives to this cybersecurity conversation.

The event will be moderated by Eileen Klein, the former Arizona treasurer and president emerita of the Arizona Board of Regents, as well as a former healthcare executive.

Cybercrime the world a collective $3 trillion in 2015 and is expected to cost $10.5 trillion by 2025. Arizona has been no stranger to the danger presented by cyber-attacks, as researchers estimate that data breaches from 2005 to 2020 cost the state $1.6 billion. In that time frame Arizona had 181 data breaches, putting more than 10 million records at risk. 

Despite these attacks, Arizona has been for itscommunity-based and cross-sectoral approach to cybersecurity that emphasizes trust and collaboration between government agencies and private companies. 

This includes the recent establishment of the command center, which will serve as Arizona’s headquarters for coordinating cybersecurity operations. 

As more personal data like banking information and medical records are transferred into the digital world, there is an increased risk of cyber-attacks that undermine public and private enterprises. People, companies, and governments are looking for new solutions to rising cybercrime as it becomes a more prominent issue.

About the event

The Future of Arizona Democracy: Cybersecurity and the Future will be hosted from 5:00-6:15 pm at ASU’s Old Main (400 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281) on Monday, March 21, 2022.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available .This event is a part of the series, “,” which is produced by the Arizona Junior Fellows in partnership with the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University. The Arizona Junior Fellows are a project of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ Foundation. They conduct research in a variety of fields in order to communicate important issues to policymakers and business leaders.

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On Monday, April 12th, Arizona State University students, state and national voices, and public and private sector leaders alike heard from some of the United States’ and Arizona’s foremost thinkers on the topic of initiative process reform. 

The conversation was moderated by former Arizona U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, and featured panelists Maria Baier, Dr. John Leshy, and Robert Robb. 

The conversation started with discussion about how the initiative process in Arizona currently functions and how it has progressed since its inception in the early 20th century. It was hosted at Arizona State University by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership () and the .

The initiative process “has become, in recent years, less of a check on the Legislature and more of a substitute,” said Robert Robb, editorial columnist for the Arizona Republic.  

Voter Protection Act’s impact

One of the points made by the panelists regarded the Voter Protection Act and how the Act has altered the usage of the initiative process in the state. 

Passed in 1998, the Act restricted the ability of the Legislature and the governor to amend passed initiatives, locking them into statute or the state constitution with little recourse for change.

“The very thing that was put into place to protect the voices of ordinary people has now been co-opted by wealth and power,” said Maria Baier speaking to the outside influence on initiative measures. 

This was a point of contention as the panelists all acknowledged that after the decision made in Citizens United, campaign contributions were protected as a form of speech. Former Senator Jon Kyl said, “Now we see a situation where money on both sides of the proposition talks. And without it you’re liable to not be able to get your point across.”

Campaign finance

Dr. John Leshy, a professor at UC Hastings Law School, said that at one point he believed the solution to preserving democracy was more financial disclosure from campaigns. However, after having resided in California and seeing the passage of Proposition 22 in 2020, Leshy came to the conclusion that so much money and so many interests are involved in the electoral process that voters already understand the influence of special interests.

In Arizona, Proposition 208 was funded largely by out-of-state special interests. An investigation conducted by Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ in September of 2020 revealed that 99.3% of the Yes on 208’s financing came from out-of-state special interests.

Next generation involvement

The conversation continued on as a SCETL student and an Arizona Junior Fellow asked what the younger generation can do to get involved and make responsible decisions regarding not just the initiative process, but politics as a whole. 

The panelists all offered words of encouragement and optimistic prospects for future generations. Bob Robb in particular spoke to the importance of “putting politics in its place.” He believes that past generations have allowed for politics to be too large a part of society so future generations should not allow it to be so toxic that it affects the other aspects of life. 

Joining Robb was Dr. Leshy, who spoke to the absence of success stories being celebrated because everything is seen as a partisan issue where one side wins and the other loses. Maria Baier and Senator Kyl both spoke to the educational aspect and how it can be the starting point in politics. 

The mission of civic education has been taken up by , which is dedicated to “combin[ing] classic works and altruistic statesmanship to develop a new kind of leader: trained in critical thought, humble about human imperfection, and ready for anything.”

Solutions

Some potential solutions to issues currently experienced by the initiative process were bounced around and debated during the discussion. The overarching theme of how to improve the initiative process was centered around transparency. This includes not only the descriptions of the initiatives when getting petition signatures, but also the name of the initiative themselves. 

Professor Leshy emphasized the importance of education on measures saying, “My remedies for controlling the process have to do with making sure that the voters can understand what’s at stake. Meaning that there are honest titles and honest descriptions.”

Sen. Kyl spoke of his experience in the legislative process to reflect on the quickness of the initiative process. Kyl served as Minority Whip in the United States Senate. “The degree of checks and balances which our federal constitution, and there are similar measures in the Arizona Constitution, imposes are worthwhile. The more thought you put into something and the more approvals that are required for it to become alw, the more likely it will be thought out, will be devoid of errors, and have more supporters behind it.” 

An additional proposal that appears to be plausible would amend the Voter Protection Act so as to add a sunset clause on proposed legislation.
To learn more about the Future of Arizona Democracy project, read about the series .

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rattle our institutions and force us all to reimagine how we live our lives and organize our economy, Arizona’s best and brightest are just getting started.

The Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ Foundation last week officially launched the Arizona Junior Fellows program. Comprising three inaugural Fellows, the program aims to provide hard-working, ambitious Arizona students with opportunities in the business, research, and public policy sectors.

The Fellows conduct research and analysis, publishing their findings in , also a project of the .

Further, the Fellows have been tasked with managing a brand new video/podcast named The Arizona Statesman. Aimed at informing Arizona executives, job creators, and workers about issues facing voters, the Fellows will host leaders in the private and public sectors to provide a much-needed perspective.

Stephen Matter, sophomore at Arizona State University, said that the program allows him “to meet and develop relationships with some of our state’s leading economists and industry specialists in order to help produce content and research which will inform Arizona voters.”

The inaugural class also includes Diego Píña and Taylor Hersch, both attending Arizona State.

You can view Business Ballot .

For more information about the Fellowship, visit this .

The Arizona Statesman, published weekly, will be available .

Joe Pitts is the Program Director for the Arizona Junior Fellows program and a student at Arizona State University’s Barrett, the Honors College.

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