Daniel Hoffman

A highly regarded expert on CIA Russian Operations, cyber security, and counterterrorism, Daniel Hoffman brings decades of experience to his credible analysis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hoffman offers substantive expertise in transnational issues in the region, offering insights about the evolving situation and its impact on U.S. national security as well as the private sector.

During the previous decade booming international demand and high oil prices sparked Russia's economic recovery and concurrent reemergence on the world stage as a significant power player.  Vladimir Putin, who has served either as President or Prime Minister of Russia since 1999, has led a resurgent and aggressive foreign policy, both in the former Soviet Union whose collapse Putin famously said in 2005 was a major geopolitical disaster of the twentieth century, and beyond Russia's traditional sphere of influence to U.S. shores.  Russia is now mounting intense covert influence operations against Europe and the U.S. and deploying its land, air, and sea assets in the former Soviet Union, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America at levels unmatched since the fall of the Soviet Union.  Having served nearly ten years in the former Soviet Union and recognized as a leading CIA expert on Russian operations, Mr. Hoffman traces Russia's increasingly aggressive military and cyber policies, and their impact on U.S. national security and the private sector.  

What would happen if a cybercriminal simultaneously turned all of the traffic lights in Manhattan green? 

Cyberspace serves as a great force multiplier for free expression and commerce. It is also an open, unregulated playing field for criminals and malicious actors, leaving citizens vulnerable to attacks, which can change, steal or destroy data. Having served the better part of the past three decades in the intelligence community, former CIA Officer Daniel Hoffman shares his perspective on integrating human intelligence with technical countermeasures as a robust strategy for more effectively protecting the data, money, and reputation on which commercial success relies.  Relying on his deep experience in cyber operations and counterintelligence, Mr. Hoffman outlines a three pronged capability based cybersecurity strategy focused on assessing the battlespace, striving for a 360 degree optic, and defending against the insider threat. 

Mr. Hoffman shares his perspective on leadership lessons learned from serving in senior Intelligence Community positions in overseas war zone locations as well as inside the Beltway where he ran CIA covert operations and delivered critical intelligence assessment, especially on the Middle East and South Asia to senior U.S. Government officials.  Using experiences from overseeing operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Mr. Hoffman emphasizes the importance of getting the big ideas right and describes the role of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) in our national security policymaking process.  Explaining the role of collection, analysis, and executive decision making while highlighting the importance of delineating the confidence level of analytical decisions, Mr. Hoffman applies leadership lessons from his service at CIA to private sector challenges.