Matt Pearl

On Friday, May 16th at 9:00 AM EST, I will have the privilege of moderating a virtual event on securing the future of U.S. leadership in quantum with Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi and James Andrew Lewis. www.csis.org/events/secur...

Stabilizing U.S. Financial Leadership: Why Congress Must Get Stablecoin Regulation Right Stablecoins are reshaping global finance. Congress now faces a choice: craft regulation that secures the dollar’s future or risk weakening it at its core.

We just released a commentary about stablecoin legislation that is pending in Congress, emphasizing that it's critical for Congress to address how these technologies will affect financial stability, the effectiveness of anti-money laundering controls, and the continued dominance of the U.S. dollar.

Chinese Factory Owners Make Appeals to Americans on TikTok: Buy Direct Videos on the social media app, filmed at factories in China, urge viewers to buy luxury goods directly, as tariffs drive up prices. Americans are receptive.

I spoke with Sapna Maheshwari at the New York Times for this important article about how Chinese manufacturers, and ultimately the Chinese Communist Party, are using TikTok to communicate with American consumers about the trade war and the U.S.-China relationship. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/t...

Back & Forth 4: Should the United States Adopt a “Hack-Back” Cyber Strategy? In this latest back and forth piece CSIS's Matt Pearl and Alexander Klimburg discuss whether the United States should allow nongovernment entities to engage in offensive hacking.

In this piece, Alex Klimburg and I debate whether the U.S. should adopt a "hack back" cyber strategy. I took the controversial position that we should authorize "hack back," albeit with an oversight structure to ensure it is done responsibly.

Tariffs May Prompt Increase in Global Cyberattacks Cybersecurity and policy experts worry that if tariffs give way to a global recession, organizations will reduce their spending on cybersecurity.

While you may be feeling tariffed out, have you considered the effect that the Administration's actions could have on the global cybersecurity landscape? If not, please see this article from Rob Lemos of Light Reading in which I provided my perspective. www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/t...

We’re hiring! The CSIS Strategic Technologies Program is looking for a new Program Coordinator and Research Assistant who is interested in how critical and emerging technologies will impact great power competition.
careers.csis.org/opportunitie...

China’s Underwater Power Play: The PRC’s New Subsea Cable-Cutting Ship Spooks International Security Experts China's new subsea cable cutting capabilities heighten global security concerns, demanding urgent action to protect critical digital infrastructure.

Erin Murphy and I published a piece on the threat posed by the PRC in a critical part of our digital infrastructure: subsea cables. www.csis.org/analysis/chi...

US Crypto Mining in Crisis? How Trump’s Liberation Day Tariffs Could Shake the Industry Trump's Liberation Day tariffs threaten to significantly disrupt the US crypto mining industry by raising costs and disrupting supply chains.

Another article in which I spoke on tariffs and tech, but this time in the context of bitcoin mining equipment in the U.S. beincrypto.com/us-crypto-mi...

The Missing Link in the AI Stack: Why Digital Infrastructure Is Essential to U.S. Leadership CSIS's Navin Girishankar and Matt Pearl outline why the United States needs to think more strategically about adopting a cohesive digital infrastructure policy to win the AI race with China.

Navin Girishankar and I published a commentary on how, for the U.S. to win the AI race, it needs to focus on a key component of the AI stack that has received insufficient attention: digital infrastructure. www.csis.org/analysis/mis...

What California is wondering ahead of Trump’s tariffs Tariffs are raising more questions than answers for Silicon Valley.

I provided further reflections on the effect that tariffs will have on AI data center build-out in the U.S. in this Politico article. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

How Trump tariffs would push Big Tech's AI data center costs higher Big Tech is set to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditures and investments this year, much of which will be directed toward building giant data centers around the US to power…

I spoke with Laura Bratton at Yahoo Finance about the effect that the Administration's tariffs would have on efforts to build out AI data centers in the U.S.

How Trump tariffs would push Big Tech's AI data center costs higher Big Tech is set to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditures and investments this year, much of which will be directed toward building giant data centers around the US to power art...

I spoke with Laura Bratton at Yahoo Finance about the effect that the Administration's tariffs would have on efforts to build out AI data centers in the U.S. finance.yahoo.com/news/how-tru...

Umm . . . yeah, I'm aware of it. ;) I'm new to the media game, so it's something I'm working on. In some interviews, I've barely done it, and in others that verbal tick reappears.

“Unless it’s part of a deal, that includes careful monitoring… I would expect Putin is going to take it as a green light to do what he wants.”Despite officia... Putin given ‘green light’ for cyber attacks as Trump eases pressure on Russia | World in 10

I was interviewed by Times Radio on the current state-of-play on cybersecurity and Russia.

YouTube video by Center for Strategic & International Studies White House Crypto Summit | Asked & Answered

Here’s my quick take on the issues surrounding the U.S. strategic crypto reserve in advance of tomorrow’s White House Crypto Summit. youtube.com/shorts/TW1Y0...

CSIS Names Matt Pearl as Director of Strategic Technologies Program The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) announced Matt Pearl has been named director of the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program.

I am thrilled and honored to join the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as Director of its Strategic Technologies Program (STP). The STP program will continue to find ways to advance our nation’s advantages in critical and emerging technologies.