Yahoo News: Local experts give thoughts on the objects shot down from sky
UC political scientists tell media there are reasons for the secrecy with spy balloon
What the public doesn’t know about the recent spy balloon and three other objects shot down in U.S. airspace over the last 8 days is likely being kept secret for a reason, say cyber security experts Richard Harknett and Gregory Winger, both political scientists with UC’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).
While the U.S. government has confirmed that the first balloon was a spy balloon, it has not confirmed the nature and purpose of the other three “objects”: and limited information coming from the White House has left a lot of questions from the public unanswered.
“When you announce what these things are (then) you are telling your adversaries something about your capabilities and your ability to discern X from Y…you don’t want to give away the game plan,” Harknett told WCPO, when interviewed along with Winger., who agreed that “when you tell the public you tell your adversaries as well.”
Richard Harknett speaking at the inauguration of SPIA in 2022. Photo/Elizabeth Vleaminck
Harknett is a professor and director of the UC School of Public and International Affairs, Co-Director of the Ohio Cyber Range Institute, and chair of UC's Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy.
Winger is an assistant professor at the school who specializes in cybersecurity, U.S. foreign policy, and security studies. His research examines security cooperation and how collaborative activities, like defense diplomacy, have been used to facility cooperation on emerging security issues.
Both agree that the purpose of the administration, and the military, is to secure the country, without giving over national secrets.
“Let’s make sure that our national security is advanced and not weak,” by sharing information that is critical to our national defense, says Harknett.
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
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