Week 10 Post-class Tech-nationalization

There is a growing trend in the field of cyber security known as tech nationalization which can be summarized by the notion of utilizing solely domestically production software and technology to avoid any potential security threats associated with internationally manufactured technology. The rational for this is that over-reliance on foreign produced technology creates a vulnerability which can be exploited by the producer of the technology, and since the United States primary producer of innovative technology they are seen as the primary threat. There is also the threat that governments can use tech corporations as political leverage depending on the political climate as a sort of exercise of soft power. One example of this is when the Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia, Google and Apple stopped providing services to the peninsula and to the South of Russia as a part of a series of sanctions imposed on the country. This is not even to mention how certain technology is required to have backdoors which can be accessible to foreign law enforcement agencies for legal compliance related issues. For example in order for Kaspersky Labs to comply with Russian regulations on software companies they must provide the federal police access to the information on their servers, which in turn can be used to examine the contents on devices of Kaspersky customers.

In order to develop technological autonomy, countries are investing in R&D firms and supporting what are called "digital economy" initiatives which aim at fostering the development of tech companies domestically. Many countries have created legislation which requires industries of strategic importance to utilize purely domestically produced software to avoid backdoor entrances for hackers or any other cyber attacks. Some have even began to undergo the type of internet segmentation like China and create their own sovereign internet segments. Overall, countries are beginning to worry about the soft power nations can employ on tech companies and what kind of implications they can have on the international stage, and combatting this potential threat by focusing on developing their own domestic capabilities.