Pentagon Also Looking To Set Up A Branch Office In The Silicon Valley

Too Much Free Time

from the the-NEW-East-Coast/West-Coast-rivalry dept

It’s officially a trend. US government agencies are making cross-country treks to Silicon Valley in hopes of talking tech companies into joining forces as they work towards thwarting the upcoming Cybergeddon.

President Obama’s newly installed defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter, toured Silicon Valley last week to announce a new military strategy for computer conflict, starting the latest Pentagon effort to invest in promising start-ups and to meet with engineers whose talent he declared the Pentagon desperately needed in fending off the nation’s adversaries.

I’m sure the government could use the help but sending pitchmen tied to domestic surveillance/crotch-grabbing airport “security” (as in the case of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson) or extrajudicial killings/endless wars (as in the case of Carter and the DoD) isn’t going to win many new converts. It’s going to have even less success winning over those who’ve already decided there’s no way they’re partnering up with the US government, not after two years of leaked documents showing the NSA has backdoored hardware, software, mobile devices… basically anything these companies touch.

Carter wants to rebuild trust. He could start by declassifying a pile of documents on Dept. of Defense activities before some leaker does it for him, but he’s really not here to offer increased transparency. All he’s offering is the same talking point agencies have routinely deferred to when commenting on exposed surveillance programs.

“I think that people and companies need to be convinced that everything we do in the cyber domain is lawful and appropriate and necessary,” Mr. Carter told students and faculty at Stanford.

That sentence is full of truth, but fundamentally dishonest. Yes, people and companies need to be “convinced” that these government agencies are acting lawfully and only doing what’s ‘”appropriate or necessary.” But a really good place to start would be actually ensuring that government agencies act lawfully and only do what is appropriate and necessary. Simply claiming you are when the facts show otherwise doesn’t do anything for anybody.

There’s a CyberWar coming and the government is heavily scouting the West Coast for foot soldiers. If the government finds itself continually rebuffed by tech companies, will it decide to institute a cyberdraft? Legislators are pushing through bills to make “information sharing” — something that would normally describe voluntary efforts — mandatory. What Carter says sounds like he’s prepared to initiate a cyber-Vietnam Conflict in hopes of heading off the next cyber-Pearl Harbor.

He urged the next generation of software pioneers and entrepreneurs to take a break from developing killer apps and consider a tour of service fending off Chinese, Russian and North Korean hackers…

Or, as Dealbreaker’s Thornton McEnery refers to this pitch: “Lean in… or Die.”

It’s not just touching base with tech companies. The Pentagon wants an actual base in the Silicon Valley.

The Pentagon plans to open its first office in Silicon Valley and provide venture capital in an effort to tap commercial technology that can be used to develop more advanced weapons and intelligence systems.

The desire for bright, young minds is understandable. What isn’t is the government’s apparent belief that a few chats and moving into the neighborhood will somehow make years of uncovered abuses simply vanish. The outreach would be admirable if it wasn’t mired in the usual talking points. The government should expect nothing from the tech world — for years.

The DoD and DHS opening branch offices in the Silicon Valley just as cybersecurity bills edge closer to becoming law is no coincidence. Much like many military-industrial contractors build offices and plants in the Beltway area to ensure maximum access to legislators, the government must also have a West Coast presence if it wants to efficiently “lobby” for information sharing and surveillance-ready products and services. And let’s not forget the government’s desire to “share” information is still mostly about obtaining usable exploits and beefing up existing surveillance programs, rather than ensuring the security of its constituents. Any statements to the contrary aren’t to be trusted.

Filed Under: ashton carter, defense department, dod, encryption, silicon valley