In 2012 President Obama was seeking re-election from the American people, one of the key policy debates in the campaign was over US defence spending. In a televised debate between Republican candidate Mitt Romney and President Obama, Romney would go on to press Obama on the decline in the US Navy’s fleet since 1916. In a characteristically witty response, Obama went on to state that the US military also has ‘fewer horses and bayonets’ than they did in 1916. This recognises that military capabilities are in perpetual motion, always demanding innovative technologies and an adaptive strategy to meet a constantly evolving threat landscape. Imagine a French knight witnessing the shadow of arrows blocking out the sun from the English longbow at Agincourt, General Kutuzov in retreat after experiencing Napoleon’s mastery of artillery at Austerlitz or a German soldier awoken by the earth crunching tracks of the first tank at the battle of the Somme. All of these cases reveal a technological change in warfare and the realization of new capabilities in waging war. Just as the Manhattan project ushered in the nuclear age, the 21st century has seen the development of a new tool of war, Cyber-attacks. With so much of society becoming increasingly integrated and dependent on digital infrastructure, cyber-attacks are now being used to cause significant disruption to a perceived enemy. As a consequence, governments are recognising the need to build up offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. In addition, national governments have also boosted information sharing on cyber-security both between other nations and also within its domestic economy.
The white heat of technology is reforging the global landscape in penetrating all aspects of society. The rollout of 5G, the growth of the internet of things and the digitalisation of the economy is placing technology at the centre of the fourth industrial revolution and with it the whispers of a great transformation. As a result, it places cyber-security at the heart of industrial policy and national security. In the UK, this has taken the form of a new National Cyber Force that aims to bolster the UK’s offensive capabilities but also to provide a shield for public and private sector data. In extension, the new defence alliance agreed between the UK, Australia and the US (known as AUKUS), confirms that as well as sharing nuclear submarine technology, the UK and US will offer their expertise in Cyber, AI and quantum computing. This will help shore up cyber capabilities in Australia, already a member of the five-eyes (An information-sharing pact between the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand), and improve global cooperation in cyber-security. This is essential as the effects of a cyber-attack can often have far-reaching consequences that transcend nationally defined borders. The threat landscape is expanding in sophistication and is involving a larger range of hostile players. For this reason, industry leaders must communicate when they are victim or a cyber-attack so that a coordinated response can be formed. This is one aspect of Biden’ executive order on cyber-security in 2021 (for more information read our previous ABM insight on Biden’s executive order), which made it mandatory for firms to register when they have been breached by a cyber-attack. Moreover, in the same way, firms must communicate when they have been breached by a cyber-attack, industry leaders should double down in sharing solutions and experiences with each other. Ultimately, cyber-security deserves a larger role in a nations defence mix as national security continues to hinge on the security of our digital and technological infrastructure. It is essential for the protection of people’s private data, the preservation of democratic institutions and the efficient functioning of our economic system. Therefore, the productive energy of a nation should be channelled into developing new technologies that deliver in enhancing a competitive edge against the coded enemy. It will be these solutions that will secure our safety, ensure the protection of our data and will give us the confidence to meet the challenges that a sophisticated threat landscape poses in the future.
National security is becoming more dependent on the securitization of our digital infrastructure. Governments are awakening to the new frontier in warfare, where cyber-attacks can disable water supplies or cut off gas supplies to whole regions. It is, for this reason, defence spending should allocate more resources in boosting offensive and defence cyber capabilities. The future of our personal data and security depend on it. It may be that in the same way we replaced the Calvary with tank crews, we could see quantum computers replacing the tank.
By Henri Willmott