How the U.S. military's idiotic tribal mentality leaves us vulnerable to cyber catastrophe

Our leaders could solve this problem. But they won't.

Cyber terrorism
(Image credit: (iStock))

The future of cyber warfare is limited only by the imaginations of enterprising hackers. In this arena, there is a dangerously level geopolitical playing field and an ill-defined domestic "turf." In the void of the unfulfilled promise of Cybercom, we're left waiting for some U.S. agency to take the lead on cyber warfare. The U.S. military in particular has a chance to "own" cyber. But if reports this week are any indication, America's armed services are going to blow it, and badly.

Here's where we are today: If you want to find the smartest minds in technology, look anywhere but the government and military. This isn't to say that there aren't clever people doing interesting things at dot-gov. But if you're a hot, second-year computer science student at Stanford, are you going to choose the huge paychecks, free gourmet food, wine-and-beer Fridays, and lavish ancillary financial benefits that come with, say, Google? Or will you choose a job in Washington D.C., a city so "with it" that — brace yourself — you might not have to wear a tie to the office?

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David W. Brown

David W. Brown is coauthor of Deep State (John Wiley & Sons, 2013) and The Command (Wiley, 2012). He is a regular contributor to TheWeek.com, Vox, The Atlantic, and mental_floss. He can be found online here.