on c-span q&a. >> tonight on the communicators, discussing cybersecurity and priva privacy. then a discussion on genetically modified food and later the conformation hearing for jay clayton. c-span where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created by america's cable television companies is brought to you by your cable, satellite provider. >> we talk with people who are

advi advising congress on using data and technology to address data, cyber skwurt security and campaigns. what do you do? >> i help with outreach to technology communities. >> what is your stand on that position? >> my career has been at the cross section of the private sector and capitol hill patience particularly in leadership and in the political space. i like to see it is a diagram of winning campaigns, trying to improve government and getting tech shots every now and again. >> host: what is your trade? >> guest: i trained in computer

science and old school coding. i was pretty good at actual script which is a debunk language now. and do communication marketing. >> host: before we get into what you do and why you here, how important today is tech to a campaign? >> guest: well, i would say it has become core competency much like -- it touches every aspect of the campaign. it can not stress enough to how important it is to winning an election. the higher stage the election gets the more important that becomes. in previous cycle, 2014 cycle, the deputy executive director of the committee and one of the primary focuses for making sure that the republican senate campaigns that cycle were doing

things like this and our successors continued that and senator gardner is starting the chair and he probably, not probably, he ran the most fiscal campaign of 2014. >> host: corey gardner? >> guest: yes, cory gardener. i say that because technology has become much like the private marketplace foundational to how you succeed in a campaign. >> host: when he hear someone is crunching the numbers. what does that mean? >> guest: it probably means they are using data to have greater situational awareness and what they are likely to do during the election day and season. with early voting, and absentee it is no longer one day but a couple week window. it is possible now with the technology and sort of advance

data algorithm to get a sense in real time where voters are, their likelihood of supporting your candidate or your opponent and the likelihood to vote. you put those two data points together and you have a general picture of how the election is going to go. >> host: what do you look at when you look at a voter? someone's facebook page or is that simple at this point? >> guest: depends on the campaign and level of sophistication. at the more advance levels, it is possible you use a long list of data points to analyze the activity and consumer market trends. some trends go back to '04 so instead of micro targeting you can think of the decade plus amount of sophistication that has been created in the marketplace and is now available.

there is always a space race between the democrats and republicans over who has got the edge over these kinds of tools and i think that will continue for some time. at times we have had the edge and they have had the edge. it is about how can i put data points together to get a more accurate picture of where they are. the primary point is first person contact and leveraging all the data gather and using that in a centralized way and layering on top saying if this is true for them, and looks like other data points available to you, what does that say about where other people are. at the national level, i think both the democrats and republicans are doing that at a level of sophistication that is at least equal to what you see in the marketplace or street

wide level. you cannot rest on your morals. >> host: how significant is micro targeting? >> guest: i think it is an ought outdated concept because that is what helped elect bush to a second term. it is more possible to use it on an individual level. and not in a sneaky, i know about you way, but to identify voters in places that would never have been captured by mic microtargeting. an xhacexample, in virginia, le say there is a county that is overwhelming democratic. there is not republican candidates. this is true vice versa.

they might be 10% republican but they don't vote because they don't think it matter. actually figure out who they are, and i think this is something both sides have been pretty good at. i happen it was important in the last gubernatorial race in virginia and it will likely be important next race too. i know i will not win this county but if there is that 10-20 percent republican how do i get them to vote because it is the state-wide total and when the races are coming down to a couple thousands votes things like that matter. that is traditional micro targeting and who that 10% is that 10% in southwest virginia is. >> host: one of the buzz terms we use a lot today is big data. how does that fit in? >> guest: the data is the most valuable asset you have.

especially gathered at the campaign and the legacy data that exists from the previous campaigns. i know this was important. the rnc has results of the election because of this. someone volunteers say a cycle ago knowing who that person is they are more likely to volunteer this cycle. it is a big part of what firms do on their lists. it is the arms race over gathering more information and using it in a more intelligence sophisticated way. >> is that for sale on the market? everybody's big data? >> guest: it is public in most cases but the congress volunt r volunteered and it is privy to the private parties. the stuff available in the

marketing place is the marketing database which power transactions and targeting facebook ads with sophisticated levels. and one of my favorites is the auto industry. from the moment of interest when you see an ad and your windshield wiper breaks and you need a new car you have three months to buy a car statistically. they spend time and energy and resources figuring out who is in that zone and let's get them to the lot. if you so any hint of an interest, go to cars.com, you will see auto ads for about three months everywhere you go. that is an example. we have election day so that is longer. there is a lot of commercial data points that can be useful

to augment the data and stuff. it is a space race. >> host: matt lira, how does that translate to your current job? >> guest: at a foundational level it is broader. technology is disrupting every sector of the economy. news, banking, transportation, everyone can think of a sector that has been impacted in the hast decade. yet, government is woefully behind in that area. this is a more of a surface drift problem. this is creating a disconnect between the way we live our lives. some of this on demand efficient 24/7 world where we can watch red videos from egypt on smart phones at 35,000 feet. that disconnect is getting wider

and creating a lot of frustration. as i look to how do i leverage what i have learned from second experience but from campaigns, it is like how do we apply technology to make government work better which by the way has the side effect of working more efficiently if we are spending more money at the time same. it was necessarily converging and the disruption by technology is so fundamentally challenging our entire economy and government has no choice but to reflect that reality and it will. i don't think we have been through this level. we have been through this before. our democracy was created in an aquerren society and it has survived and thrived.

we have that same inflection point today between sort of an industrial any and information economy -- economy. and that let's us survives as a democracy but create a more perfect union. you think about the role of television and the role it has played and will continue to play in providing a transparent ownership over a public institution. imagine what interactive technology can bring to the table where you are not just watching but can be a part of the debates. >> host: are there different roles for government and public? >> guest: yes, and rightly so. public institutions can be a challenge and some of the rules

need to be modernized and changed. like the paperwork reduction act which was passed in the '80s before the technology was on the scene and it is having the preverse effect of -- and because of the technology there is examples like that -- perverse -- it passed the house last year under the leader's innovation issue. and last time it was reformed "top gun" was the number one movie. it says present day and that applies to the bill as well. the rules changed but i think the opportunities i would say greater because i think some ways it can be really impactf impactfull. i look back to the guys that

started in the '50s. the kids in the corner of the room especially. they were like we are the serious grownups and you guys just play this thing over here. and of course, like those guys not only became central to winning campaigns but they went on to create things like "60 minutes" and other things in the marketplace and information space. you could see kind of a similar evolution in terms of digital technology and politic and mow it is coming into the government where maybe 5-10 years ago, it is like we are doing tv ad and the old school stuff. play with this new toy over here. it is becoming increasingly central. every cycle the people that do it become more and more important to a campaign. it is not the only thing but it

is taking on immaturity and reflects the reality of where the tech is. >> what do you see happening with the house and senate? >> tremendous opportunity. the first point is when it comes to tech policy, it has been consciously so, bipartisan, collaborative area even over the post partisan time over the last eight years. the leader, mccarthy, worked closely with people like danny h h hoyer to make sure they are c consensus driven. the bills we passed are going on to become law. the last bill president obama signed, the town act, 11:07 a.m. on friday so that doesn't cut it

closer was the invention bill. putting that there before you can get to the context of the political alignment there is energy whenever you have a new administration and a new congress to do things. this is a consensus driven area and i think it will continue to be one. that said, when you take out the foyer issues and think about hopefully it will create the opportunity to do more structural changes that will be beneficial for our system of democracy and the rest. >> where does privacy land in your little -- >> so, it is like one of the great american debates. the technology has raised questions about old value. that is certainly something that has been on the topic of the

entire congress. there are important determinations that need to be made. i think it is important for a lot of the people in this discussion and that is making sure that we are aware we are setting presence and will continue to exist into the digital future. so, we want to be, you know, we want to make sure and be very thoughtful and sensitive to the fact we are setting a precedent that -- you look back to the founding generation. one thing is they are very thoughtful about the precedent they are setting. i think we are at another moment like that with the issue of privacy. i think it is important for the public to be involved as it plays out not just in one bill but an ongoing discussion because it will have big implications for the way the society functions. >> you were in grade school when

the telecom act was written in '96. time for a rewrite? >> i know it has been discussed by the relevant community chairs. they reference the age of the bill. it is a high impact things but it is potentially one of the structural things being looked at. you have to start looking at how do you tackle some of the issues. but interestingly, i believe this was tapped by the government in the '90s. so it doesn't have to be. but there is clearly an opportunity. >> matt lira, thank you for your time. >> i will approach this from the perspective of copy write. >> and now joining us is the ce, of cybereason.

what is that? >> our mission is to prepare for the new era of cybersecurity. >> host: how to you do that? >> it is new big data technology that enables you to consume things from every computer and really up and answer those questions. i will see it right now in the activity in the environment. there is not just one virus in one computer. are we seeing adviso vvisoradva?

>> host: is your code different? is that you unique? >> i think the mindset is what is difference. we understand cybersecurity. we spent more than israel figure this out and a few years in the government agencies through cia here. i think in general, cyber is bringing the knowledge of what the advisories are out there and what they are doing and what is their mindset. then we develop the technology to protect the country. >> do you make the mindset as a community scientist or a terror

expert? >> that is a good question. essenti essentially the way they implement this is technology. we created a new big data ai technology. the mindset the same mindset to how you can find the shows. once you see the computer, it is very very powerful. >> how far along are we with ai, artificial intelligence? >> i think a lot of people think ai is the robot. i think it is specific analysis and collected in order to be a sheep and to find the things -- the easiest way is when a level

three analysts, a cybersecurity specialist, is looking for an account (inaudible). we are using ai in order to (inaudible). there there is a real process of how to say hey, this is a hunch something is happening inside the company. >> host: how did you get started in this area? >> (inaudible) i joined part of the cybersecurity in different ways and shapes and forms. (inaudible) >> host: and is there a large tech community in israel? >> oh, yes. israel is (inaudible) and terrorist. the amount of people, or the amount of entrepreneurship

happening in israel is enormous. in our state, there is more than 400 companies in the cybersecurity realm. every two people that leave the army have an idea and they will pursue their dream and they will not stop. >> host: when did you find cybereason? >> i founded it with two co-founders in 2012. since then the company moved and grow from three people to 220 people. we have offices in tokyo, tel aviv, boston and uk. >> host: why boston? >> we were looking for a place on the east coast because we know we would have the (inaudible) and intelligence group involved. in order to make sure those two groups work as one team and not two separate teams and the working hour differences we

decided we wanted to go to the east coast and the debate between new york and boston we decided we will be able to recruit and hire more talented people in our field in boston. we know we did the right choice because we manage to grow the team from 0 to more than a hundred people in boston. >> host: did you consider washington? >> guest: we didn't to be honest. it is interesting because with hindsight we probably would consider but washington wasn't even on our list back then. >> you were here at the state of the net conference mr. div. what are you doing here? >> i believe the cybersecurity agenda in general is super important that needs to be pushed. and the reason is that cybersecurity is not a problem. it was high in technology and then it will be gone. cybersecurity is a program that is here to stay. and if we, as a company, and

others are not going to push and educate everybody involved in this side of the program, i think then we will be in a big problem. i believe right now we see a lot of progress in the public and private sector. so people are starting to understand we need to start working together because if we are not going to work together the government is going to close the garden and those states are gone. >> well, your presentation was a chat with judiciary chair bob goodlatte. what did you ask him? >> the issues and studies they did about encryption but basically it was more about the use of encryption and what is okay and not okay for the government meaning is it okay for the government to put

(inaudible). in the old days, the question was of course, but in these days the answer is not so simple because once you put any (inaudible) in a technology, yes, that can be used for the government but it can be used for (inaudible) as well. we have learned if that is a backdoor, hacker will find it and no matter how well you find it. then we have a bigger problem than just sharing information without our government. this becomes public and everybody can use that information. so certainly the government interested to make sure you are good because that protects everybody. >> where does privacy fit into your world? >> cyberism, we believe privacy is super important. there is no doubt about it. on the other hand, we believe security is super important. that is the reason they said earlier that it is not just easy

against the inscription -- encryption or no. we enable to government to do their job and enable private companies to do their job. i don't believe there is an easy one-line answer to this question. >> are there different actors in this? >> if you look at the map, there are two forces happening. one is a state actor. there is the oldest one and right now we see every major country understand that cybersecurity is becoming a topic they need to address the same way they have the military and air force and we see another

force becoming strong skwr stronger and this is the criminal. suddenly you can encrypt files, you have bit coins that enable you to get the money and criminals are using this business model. the question is differences and women are becoming stronger and stronger. >> who are the types of clients that go for your client? >> at the beginning we thought it would be the fortune 100. but we realize in the past five years it goes all the way up to the fortune 100 to mid-size companies that understand at the end of the day if they are not going to protect themselves against cybersecurity they can be gone. we have customers from the fortune 500 all the way down to

200 countries. >> what about the government? >> we are not working yet with the government. we are starting to have discussions with the government. lockede martin, the defense contractor, is one of our investors so basically this is kind of the way that we are going to approach the government sector. lior div, thank you for your time. >> if you would like to see more of c-span's communicators programs go to c-span.org. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider.

in case you missed it on c-span, national coordinator for child exploit prevention during the obama administration: >> i used to think the hardest think i would ever have to do is look into the eyes of a child and listen to her story about being abused. i was wrong. the hardest thing i ever had to do was watch their abuse. sometimes still photos, sometimes video, sometimes with sound. all heart wrenching and even now impossible to forget. >> agriculture secretary nominee sunny purdue: >> farmers are really struggling to be profitable, hold on, and many times even the best farmers are not able to produce a product even with the best production capabilities they may have. so, i think, trade is really the answer. >> msnbc's chris matthews. >> the truth that arrives on the

front page or straight news broadcast. that is what contains a politician. that is what stops the overreach in power. that is what the country takes seriously and what matters this hour, this week, this time in our live. >> treasury secretary on comprehensive tax reform. >> the goals of tax reform which are about creating a middle income tax cut and creating tax simplification in making u.s. businesses competitive where we have a high business tax rate and worldwide income. you know, we are able to take the tax code and redesign things. >> pfizer ceo ian reed on pharmaceutical costs. >> no one is using our medicines in the exchanges because the exchanges don't provide them access. we need to reform health care the way it is delivered and the consequences will be for patients >> and epa administrator scott

pruit: >> there is exciting things going on across the globe but not here. most of it is happening in europe because of indisincentives we put into play in this country. if you really care about some of these environmental concerns, we ought to be in the mix. >> they are available on our home page and by searching the video library. >> next, food and agricultural experts discuss genetically modified organisms known as gmos and their affect on the environment and food industry. this is just over an hour. [applause] >> thank you.