Russia’s Hacker Recruitment Machine: Criminals, Students, and the State’s Cyber Talent and Partnership Pipelines

March 19, 2026 | The CMC welcomed Justin Sherman to speak about the how the Russian state uses of a complex web of actors and events to identify hacker talent and pull it into the state’s cyber apparatus, whether for outright employment, ad hoc support, or something in between.

Justin Sherman is the founder and CEO of Global Cyber Strategies, a DC research and advisory firm, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. His book, Navigating Technology and National Security, examines the history and future of US national security regulations of technology and data.