Overview
A conversation with Dr Ahana Datta Fasel on her new book, Full Stack Spies: Cyber Espionage in the Age of US-China Competition.
Global internet stability relies on a paradox: nations must build shared tech protocols while simultaneously breaking them to gather intelligence. As the US and China weaponise cyberspace for strategic leverage, this escalating cat-and-mouse game makes cyber security increasingly difficult, expensive and unpredictable for all.
Full Stack Spies examines the dynamic, interdependent relationships that hackers, cyber defenders, tech giants and nation-states forge, leverage and exploit to amass cyber power against a wide range of targets in geopolitics, global trade and finance, the armed forces, and critical infrastructure.
Dr Ahana Datta Fasel will explore how cyber espionage reflects the psychology, culture, and strategic priorities of the states that conduct it. Drawing on her experience as a former UK government ethical hacker, she will examine China's cyber ecosystem, the human motivations behind hacking operations, and why the line between peace and conflict in the digital age has become increasingly blurred.
Full Stack Spies: Cyber Espionage in the Age of US-China Competition was published by Hurst in June 2026. Copies of the book can be purchased after the event. The discussion will be moderated by Dr Louise Marie Hurel, Senior Research Fellow in the Cyber and Tech, RUSI.
About the Speaker
Dr Ahana Datta Fasel advises governments and companies globally on geopolitical, technological, and systemic risk.
Previously, she was the Financial Times’ cyber chief, and held senior cyber roles in the UK government, serving in the Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office, and the National Cyber Security Centre. She is a strategic advisor on national security and defence to UK Research and Innovation, and a trustee of Privacy International.
Joining Instructions
This event is open to all members and will take place at RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET. If you have any questions regarding this event, please email [email protected].
