Zhanna L. Malekos Smith, JD, is a visiting fellow with Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a non-resident fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research. Additionally, she is a senior associate with the Aerospace Security Project and Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a fellow with the Army Cyber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Previously, Malekos Smith was an assistant professor in the Systems Engineering Department at West Point and a professor of cyber warfare studies with the U.S. Air War College. Her expertise spans cybersecurity, aerospace security, emerging technologies, and international security. Malekos Smith has appeared on CNN, NBC, and her commentary has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Politico, Nature, Physics Today, and elsewhere.
A former captain and attorney in the Air Force’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, she received her commission from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a cross-registered student and participated in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.She holds a BA in Russian and international relations from Wellesley College, an MA and associateship of King’s College from King’s College London, Department of War Studies, and a JD from the University of California, Davis.
Malekos Smith has held fellowships with the Madeleine K. Albright Institute for Global Affairs, the Belfer Center’s Cyber Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, Duke University Law School, and Stanford University’s U.S.-Russia Forum. She is a volunteer consultant for Hostage US, a nonprofit that supports the families of Americans taken hostage abroad and hostages when they return home.
Featured Work
MAR 27, 2024 • Article
The Specter of EMP Weapons in Space
Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith details the danger of electromagnetic pulse weapons. How can nations protect themselves from this catastrophic threat?
MAR 6, 2024 • Article
Empowering the Artemis Accords Coalition for Peace and Stability
As missions ramp up, Zhanna Malekos Smith writes that the U.S. should lead an effort with the Artemis Accords for space sustainability and security.
FEB 2, 2024 • Article
It Takes a Village to Protect Children in the Metaverse
With the metaverse expanding rapidly, states and international institutions need to act to protect minors from abuse, writes Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith.
JAN 5, 2024 • Article
Imagining Success in a Post-Quantum Future
Quantum technology could usher in a "new era of computation," writes Zhanna Malekos Smith. How can states, international institutions, and industries prepare?
NOV 29, 2023 • Article
A Human-Centric Epic for NATO Space Domain Awareness
In this report on NATO's annual space policy summit, Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith analyzes the challenges the institution faces in the final frontier.
NOV 3, 2023 • Article
Ethics as a “Science of Happiness” in Cyber International Relations
In this Platonic dialogue looking at the U.S. ethical and strategic goals in cyberspace, Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith presents differing viewpoints and "systems ...
OCT 3, 2023 • Article
Howling at the Moon? China’s Wolf Warrior Transition in Space
As Xi Jinping's China tries to soften its "wolf warrior" style of diplomacy, how is this reflected in its space policy?
AUG 23, 2023 • Article
Preparing for the Quantum Computing Tipping Point
Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith discusses ethical concerns around quantum computers and why states should act now to secure their critical infrastructure.
JUL 24, 2023 • Article
Building Space Security through Sustainability and Ethics
Visiting Fellow Zhanna L. Malekos Smith discusses U.S.-UK space and cyber policy and the ethics and sustainability concerns around "counterspace" weapons.