It would be difficult to find anyone who would dispute that we are experiencing an era of rapid technology-driven change. The magnitude of change will only grow as the Internet of Things, wearable computing, and vehicles as a computing platform enter into the rapid advancement and adoption stages of their evolution. These technologies will extend our daily reliance on technology connected to the Internet in virtually every aspect of our lives.
These technologies create a number of issues and opportunities as they are adopted and advance. Perhaps the most concerning is the dramatic increase in the pace of change that we will experience in the next few years. In fact, we have already started to see pockets of change driven by these technologies. Most conversations about change focus on individuals — and that is important — but another area must be addressed.
The processes that are used within the military and government take a considerable amount of time to complete. That time must be condensed substantially if we are to keep up with the evolution of these technologies. You do not have to go very far to find an example of this challenge. Just look at the cybersecurity information sharing act. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act was first brought up back in 2012 and still remains in limbo. If you examine the process, it would be easy to see how the information influencing the actCyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has been based on data collected back in 2011.
Stop for a moment and think about how much has changed since then. It is likely that at least some portions of that bill will be out of date and should be updated by the time it is passed. One thing is certain and that is the pace of technology-driven change exceeds the pace with which we govern and legislate. Can we change the process to make it much more appropriate for the technology-driven change we are experiencing today that is likely to accelerate further in the next few years? Does not look like it. Make no mistake about it the inability to keep up with the pace of change is an emerging national security threat.
Memorial Day Note: To all those who serve and have served, thank you for your service.
