Preparing for Tomorrow's Threats

Tomorrow’s conflicts won’t just involve soldiers on a battlefield; they will also feature artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous technology across land, sea, air and cyberspace. As AI revolutionizes militaries and foreign powers allegedly attempt to influence elections, government strategies need to be as agile as the technologies they utilize. Due to the broad nature of these threats, leaders will need to determine a set of priorities to develop coherent approaches for the future.

In an effort to discover these priorities, and put recent budgetary and strategic decisions into context, Government Business Council (GBC) polled a group of 121 active duty military and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians about their current concerns and their opinions about current threats, emerging technology and new tactics. From autonomous tools to multi-domain strategies, current military and DOD employees have clear opinions about the future of military technology.

The poll provided insight into which information security threats give respondents the most apprehension. Over half of those polled said that active threats, such as DOS attacks, malware, phishing and password crackers were the most concerning. This response is no surprise, as reports of the vulnerabilities of governments and organizations around the world to foreign digital attacks have dominated headlines in recent years. Federal employees are likely eager to avoid future incidents like the hack of the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

The need to modernize cybersecurity efforts and hold them accountable within the public sector is clear; the question is how to do it most effectively and cost-efficiently. President Trump’s administration is outlining a new federal cybersecurity strategy based on its executive order issued earlier this year. Central in the executive order is the need for government technology and cybersecurity efforts to work together and modernize.

Poll respondents also weighed in on the technology and strategies shaping the future. When asked about the importance of autonomous technology, such as drones, 88 percent said it was at least “slightly important,” with 42 percent saying it was “extremely important.” AI, for example, is already playing a big role in government and military strategies around the world, allowing government and military organizations to accomplish more. This influence should grow in the coming years.

To protect warfighters and achieve mission goals, government and military organizations will need to commit to agility and keep innovation top of mind. Doing that will mean partnering and collaborating with leading organizations in the private sector to deliver advanced solutions, both at home and abroad.

Learn more about the poll’s results here.