Institute for Strategic Risk and Security

The Institute for Strategic Risk and Security (ISRS) is a Geneva-based non-profit organization focused on strategic risk, cybersecurity, and democratic resilience. The organization conducts policy research and advisory work related to emerging technologies, geopolitical risk, and post-conflict governance.

Background

The Institute for Strategic Risk and Security was established in 2025 as a Swiss non-governmental organization headquartered in Geneva.

The organization describes its work as combining policy research with advisory support for governments, institutions, and civil society organizations working on cybersecurity, information security, and institutional resilience.

Research focus

ISRS research focuses on cybersecurity, information warfare, emerging technology risks, and the strategic implications of technology convergence in international security.

Programs and publications

ISRS publishes analytical commentary and policy-oriented briefings on global security issues, including cybersecurity, military technology, and information warfare.

The organization produces a series of analytical reports known as Flashpoint Briefings, which examine emerging geopolitical and technological risks.

ISRS leadership has commented publicly on emerging security issues such as vulnerabilities affecting global undersea cable infrastructure.

Conferences and academic engagement

ISRS leadership has participated in international cybersecurity and policy conferences, including the Cyber Future Summit.

ISRS leadership has also contributed to academic and policy discussions on emerging security issues through initiatives associated with the University of North Texas NEXUS program.

Leadership

ISRS is chaired by David Venable, a cybersecurity executive and former National Security Agency intelligence officer.

Board members include Brigham McCown, a former senior U.S. government official and Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute; Mykola Volkivskyi, founder of the Geneva Center for Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution; and Jason Worlledge of the International Republican Institute.

Synthetic asymmetry

The institute has explored the concept of "synthetic asymmetry", introduced by its chairman David Venable in a 2025 article in The Cipher Brief. The framework describes how the convergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, biotechnology, and commercial space systems may enable smaller actors to generate disproportionate strategic effects.

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