What Institute for Security and Technology does
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is a U.S.-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank that describes its mission as uniting technology and policy leaders to build “actionable solutions” to emerging security challenges. The organization’s work spans cybersecurity (including ransomware and ecosystem hardening), strategic stability and nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) security, and AI security and risk reduction. It positions itself as “policy engineers” and “trusted interlocutors” operating at the intersection of technology, national security, and implementation-oriented policy work.
In recent years, IST’s strategy has combined (1) research and policy engineering, (2) convening and multistakeholder coordination (government, industry, and civil society), and (3) applied initiatives and programs designed to translate technical research into operationally relevant recommendations. This includes work around cyber-risk reduction through structured task forces and standards-oriented deliverables, and nuclear stability efforts that address how advanced AI could affect NC3 reliability, decision support, and crisis communications.
IST’s current center/initiative structure highlights two large, applied research-and-policy centers launched in September 2026—(a) a Center for Advancing Cybersecurity and (b) the Perry-Shultz Center for Technology & Strategic Stability—along with ongoing programs spanning NC3/AI, AI risk reduction (including guardrails and RSI-related governance), and cybersecurity coalition efforts.