The federal government and Silicon Valley are teaming up to combat the growing dangers of cyber terrorism. This was made clear when the Department of Homeland Security opened a new Silicon Valley office, when senior Pentagon officials traveled to Stanford University this month to forge partnerships with Silicon Valley firms, and when the Air Force announced plans to create a permanent presence in Silicon Valley.
Collaborations between private companies and the federal government are not new. Dock owners have worked closely with government agencies for many years, for example, to stop illegal imports and exports. But cybersecurity is a new phenomenon because the Internet recognizes no national borders. Numerous incidents in the past few years prove this point: North Korea and the Sony Pictures hack last year, Iran’s cyberattacks on U.S. financial institutions, Gmail user accounts’ compromised by Chinese hackers, and The New York Times’ Twitter account hack by a Syrian group – to name a few. The need for collaboration between the federal government and the private sector to meet the risks of cybersecurity is just as real as the need for dock companies to help halt illegal shipping.
There have been instances when federal government and private sector partnerships could have blocked cybersecurity threats both domestic and foreign. For example,
Silicon Valley operates totally different than the federal government, and this makes the challenges of collaboration especially complex. One is made up mainly of small and very agile teams, the other of large concentrations of bureaucrats. One operates on lean budgets, with many failures, the other runs on slow-moving processes and procedures.
Numerous initiatives over the past few months are attempting to bridge the gap. At Stanford University, where we both are located, a group of students and researchers is currently working to create “Hacking for Defense.” Teams of technology superstars are partnered with members and veterans of the military to brainstorm ideas, plans, and projects on a 24 or 48 hour timeline in the heart of Silicon Valley. Joe Felter, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and partner at BMNT Partners is one of the project leaders. The project was initiated by the Palo Alto-based organization BMNT Partners, funded by the DoD, and subsequently endorsed by former Secretary of Defense William Perry’s Preventive Defense Project.
The group’s first hackathon was called “Hacking the Supply Chain” and focused on key infrastructure areas including energy, water, telemedical services, and manufacturing. During the process of assembling the participant roster, the group tapped students, veterans, active-duty military members, researchers, engineers, and others – spreading its net as widely as possible while still focusing on producing tangible results.
“Our recent Hacking for Defense pilot validated that Silicon Valley based teams could form to produce tangible results in areas related to defense innovation that in the past have been difficult to achieve,” John Kuhn reported. “An expansion of this model may assist in driving more deliberate research and development efforts across the Department of Defense and will certainly enhance the understanding of defense challenges by an expanded network of potential solution providers.” Kuhn is one of the student organizers for Hacking for Defense and a military veteran himself with operational experience in the U.S. Army special operations.
We are optimistic that federal government agencies can collaborate successfully with the high-tech private sector – particularly with innovative companies in Silicon Valley – to help meet our national and international defense needs.
