The Global Struggle for Strategic Advantage in ICT

Speakers: Mark Montgomery (US Cyberspace Solarium Commission) and Robert Morgus (US Cyberspace Solarium Commission)

Date: 16 March 2021

Speaker Session Summary

SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Mark Montgomery (US Cyberspace Solarium Commission) and Mr. Robert Morgus (US Cyberspace Solarium Commission) as a part of its SMA Strategic Advantage Speaker Series. 

Mr. Montgomery began the group’s presentation by stating that China has purposefully acted maliciously towards the US by using information operations (IO) that are consistently below the threshold for kinetic reprisals. An example of China’s malicious activity is its installation of malware on hard drives that are being exported to the US. In response to China’s low-level malicious activity, one of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s objectives was to build appropriate escalation thresholds. However, according to Mr. Montgomery, the command most effected by China’s IO, US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), is undermanned, overworked, and undertrained. Making USCYBERCOM’s task more difficult, the US no longer has a strong strategic advantage in information and communications technology (ICT). Mr. Montgomery stated that ultimately, the USG needs to cooperate with the US private sector and its allies to counteract China’s growing presence in the information environment (IE). He then added that that the success of this strategy relies on five pillars, which include 1) identifying key technology equipment, 2) ensuring that the minimum resources required for manufacturing to take place are present, 3) protecting the US’s supply chain, 4) stimulating its own domestic market, and 5) ensuring its long-term global competitiveness. 

Next, Mr. Morgus called attention to the fact that as recently as 2000, the US was the world’s leader in creating global network technologies, primarily due to the work of its largest ICT company, Lucent. However, as a result of poor business deals and scandals, Lucent’s prominence shrank, and the company was absorbed by Nokia in 2016. Mr. Morgus then stated that the largest barriers preventing the US from becoming the largest innovator in ICT again are a lack of research and development (R&D) funding, strong barriers to investment, US industrial standards, and US intellectual property (IP) security. Another barrier, and also a security concern, for the US is that it has decreased the amount that it invests in hardware, which is now mostly produced in China. To conclude, Mr. Morgus identified five additional pillars—this time, for how the US can decrease its reliance on hardware built in China: 1) government review of industry consultation, 2) a reinvigoration of the US’s R&D funding, 3) the creation of a national security supply chain center, 4) the stimulation of the domestic economy, and 5) the insurance of a competitive global market. 

Speaker Session Recording

Note: We are aware that many government IT providers have blocked access to YouTube from government machines during the pandemic in response to bandwidth limitations. We recommend viewing the recording on YouTube from a non-government computer or listening to the audio file (below), if you are in this position.

Briefing Materials

Biographies:

Mark Montgomery serves as the Senior Advisor to the Chairmen of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and was previously the Executive Director. He is also the Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He previously served as Policy Director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John S. McCain and completed 32 years as a nuclear trained surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Rear Admiral in 2017. 

Robert Morgus is a Senior Director for the US Cyberspace Solarium Commission. At the Commission, Morgus has led the development of the ecosystem pillar of the Commission’s final report and served as the lead writer for the Pandemic White Paper and the Supply Chain White Paper. Prior to his work for the Commission, he helped build New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative, where he headed the organization’s international cyber policy work. While at New America, his research focused on mechanisms to counter the spread of offensive cyber capability, cybersecurity and international governance, and Russian internet doctrine. He has authored reports on international cybersecurity norms, internet governance, cybersecurity insurance, amongst others. Morgus has spoken about cybersecurity at a number of international forums including NATO’s CyCon, the Global Conference on Cyberspace, and Cy Fy, amongst others. His research has been published and recognized by the New York Times, Slate, the IEEE, peer-reviewed academic journals, and numerous other national and international media outlets. Morgus serves as a member of the Research Advisory Network for the Global Commission on Internet Governance, as well as the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, and has served as an expert advisor for the World Economic Forum.

The  SMA Strategic Advantage Speaker Series description and list of the other sessions in this series can be downloaded here.