Jane Holl Lute, former deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security, examines the social effects of global technological connectivity and ask what it means to speak today of personal privacy or personally identifiable information. This includes defining the political implications of the “cyber awakening” at the key intersection of technology, power, and wealth, and how nation-states, international institutions, and major multinational corporations are coping with these developments. Drawing on her experience in international, national, and homeland security, Lute offers a policy perspective on security in the cyber age. Holl Lute was a Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Visitor at the American Academy in Berlin in Spring 2014.