National Security Research·Cyber Threat Intelligence·Indo-Pacific
National Security & Cybersecurity Fellow
Nation-State Threats•Critical Infrastructure•Emerging Technology
Christopher Braccia is a National Security & Cybersecurity Fellow and cyber threat intelligence researcher specializing in nation-state operations, critical infrastructure, cyber policy, emerging technology, and strategic competition. His research spans all 16 U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, with additional focus on telecommunications, subsea cables, supply chain, Space Systems, grey-zone activity, and Indo-Pacific security. His work has been cited internationally and presented across the United States, Asia, and Europe.
Cited by the CTO of the UK NCSC; syndicated across four continents by RealClearDefense, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, the Australian Centre for International Studies, Indian Strategic Studies, and the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association.
§ 01·Cited & Syndicated
§ 02·Selected Writing
How PRC-linked actors refined grey-zone cyber tactics across Vietnam and ASEAN, then turned the same playbook against Western critical infrastructure.
Cited by the CTO of the UK NCSC. Syndicated by RealClearDefense, ISEAS, and others. SSRN →·Full text (PDF) →
The companion to the flagship paper: how Beijing treated Southeast Asia as a single, centrally directed proving ground, refining the edge-device and telecom tradecraft that later surfaced as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon inside U.S. critical infrastructure.
How Russia and China are building Iran's cyber arsenal against critical infrastructure, traced across all sixteen U.S. sectors.
East West Strategic Research Collective. ResearchGate →·SSRN →
An assessment of Iran-linked cyber threats to U.S. and allied infrastructure, with a companion telecom risk advisory.
SSRN, 2026. SSRN →
Accountability and oversight for frontier AI deployed inside critical communications systems, and the function-based framework operators and regulators can build around.
East West Strategic Research Collective. ResearchGate →
Subsea cables and LEO satellite ground stations have become a single convergent communications-risk domain, with AI accelerating both attack and defense across the seam between them.
AI-accelerated convergent failure in communications infrastructure. SSRN →·Direct PDF →
Why the moment calls for a cybersecurity reset, and a recommitment to the public-private partnerships that defend U.S. critical infrastructure.
USTelecom, with Robert Mayer and Brianna Bace. USTelecom →
How PRC operators are compressing the timeline from reconnaissance to effect — AI-accelerated tradecraft rehearsed against regional networks as pre-positioning for a 2027 Taiwan contingency.
East West Strategic Research Collective. SSRN →
Why a blockade or quarantine is the more likely form of coercion against Taiwan, and the case for an enforced Freedom of Navigation Treaty as the missing deterrent.
East West Strategic Research Collective. ResearchGate →
A Vietnamese-language argument for Vietnam as a leading strategic cybersecurity partner, built from its own interests: subsea corridors, supply chains, and hard-won intrusion experience.
Vietnamese-language paper. Full text (PDF) →
A communications-sector risk advisory issued alongside the Iran Cyber Threat Brief: exposure, likely vectors, and concrete mitigations for U.S. and allied telecom operators.
Parallel Playbooks
§ 03·Work
Fellow, USTelecom, The Broadband Association
Directs member-facing working groups, intelligence programs, and flagship initiatives across USTelecom's cybersecurity portfolio.
Co-Chair, Strategy Coordination Committee, Communications Sector Coordinating Council
The recognized industry counterpart to DHS/CISA for communications sector security, operating in partnership under the CIPAC framework.
Chief of Staff, International Communications CISO Council
A council of communications-sector CISOs spanning five continents, coordinating cross-border threat intelligence and sector defense.
Founder and Director of Research, East West Strategic Research Collective
Independent research and advisory firm focused on cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and the Indo-Pacific.
A free, open record of 4,328 verified cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, mapped across all 16 CISA sectors plus Space Systems as an emerging sector and 697 subsea cable systems, connected by actor, sector, and geography through an interactive Threat Atlas. Every incident traceable to source. Free for defenders; licensed enrichment for institutions.
Structured research databases and tracking platforms
Beyond The Observatory, has designed and built structured incident and regulatory-tracking databases — hundreds to thousands of records each — covering quantum networking and post-quantum migration, AI policy and deployment, federal supply chain regulation across multiple agencies, and logistics and transportation resilience. Built under client engagement; access-controlled and not publicly listed.
East West Strategic Research Collective
Independent research and advisory firm focused on cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and the Indo-Pacific.
§ 04·Speaking
CODE BLUE 2026, Tokyo, November 17–18, 2026. Law & Policy Track. Asia’s premier international cybersecurity conference.
Moderator. Closed-door session, Washington, D.C. Upcoming.
NYS Cybersecurity Conference, Albany, NY. With Robert Mayer and Brianna Bace.
Official 2026 New York State Cybersecurity Conference presenter profile ↗InCyber Forum Europe, Lille, France. Critical infrastructure track.
Malaysia. Delegate.
NYS Cybersecurity Conference, Albany, NY. With Robert Mayer and Brianna Bace.
Official 2025 New York State Cybersecurity Conference presenter profile ↗Malaysia. Delegate.
For speaking invitations and media inquiries, reach me at cbraccia@protonmail.com. Bio, headshot, and a one-page Observatory overview are in the Press Kit →.
Invited / upcoming: InCyber Canada · InCyber Japan.
§ 05·About
Christopher Braccia is a cyber threat intelligence and national security researcher. He studies how nation-state actors target critical infrastructure, with particular focus on the communications sector and the Indo-Pacific. Much of his current work examines how PRC preparations toward a potential 2027 Taiwan contingency are shaping cyber pre-positioning inside allied infrastructure today — including, in his latest paper Algorithmic Siege, how AI is compressing that tradecraft to machine speed.
He has spent over twelve years based between Saigon and New York, which gives him a field perspective on the region where many campaigns against U.S. infrastructure are first tested. That vantage point, combined with direct work across seven of the sixteen U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, shapes how he reads emerging threats.
He is a Fellow at USTelecom, The Broadband Association, where he directs member-facing working groups and intelligence programs. He co-chairs the Strategy Coordination Committee of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council and serves as Chief of Staff of the International Communications CISO Council. He founded East West Strategic Research Collective. He built and maintains The Observatory, a free open record of 4,328 verified critical-infrastructure cyber incidents and 312 grey-zone events, mapped across all 16 CISA sectors plus Space Systems and 697 subsea cable systems.
Outside his security work, he is a Co-Founder of the Greene County Food Security Coalition.
Read the full biography →§ 06·Press Kit
Everything a journalist or conference organizer needs, ready to download. No request required.
Christopher Braccia is a cyber threat intelligence and national security researcher focused on nation-state operations against critical infrastructure, the communications sector, and the Indo-Pacific. He is a Fellow at USTelecom, The Broadband Association, and co-chairs the Strategy Coordination Committee of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council. He created and maintains The Observatory, a free open record of 4,328 verified critical-infrastructure cyber incidents mapped across all 16 CISA sectors. His paper From Vietnam to Volt Typhoon was cited by the CTO of the UK National Cyber Security Centre and syndicated internationally.
Christopher Braccia is a cyber threat intelligence and national security researcher. He studies how nation-state actors target critical infrastructure, with particular focus on the communications sector and the Indo-Pacific, including how PRC preparations toward a potential 2027 Taiwan contingency are shaping cyber pre-positioning inside allied infrastructure today. He is a Fellow at USTelecom, The Broadband Association, where he directs member-facing working groups and intelligence programs. He co-chairs the Strategy Coordination Committee of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council, the recognized industry counterpart to DHS/CISA for communications sector security, and serves as Chief of Staff of the International Communications CISO Council. He created and maintains The Observatory, a free open record of 4,328 verified critical-infrastructure cyber incidents and 312 grey-zone events, mapped across all 16 CISA sectors plus Space Systems and 697 subsea cable systems. His 2025 paper From Vietnam to Volt Typhoon was cited by the CTO of the UK National Cyber Security Centre and syndicated by RealClearDefense, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, and the Australian Centre for International Studies. He has spent over twelve years based between Saigon and New York.
High-resolution portrait, cleared for editorial use.
Download headshotFlagship paper
Braccia, C. (2025). From Vietnam to Volt Typhoon. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5369661
The Observatory dataset
Braccia, C. (2026). The Observatory: Cross-Sector Cyber Incident Record (Version 2026.08) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21998453
§ 07·Contact