Operating at Speed in Technology Influenced Environments
“Operating at Speed in Technology Influenced Environments”
Speaker: Snow, J. (USSOCOM Donovan Group)
Date: 7 February 2019
Speaker Session Preview
SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Lt Col Jennifer “JJ” Snow (USSOCOM Donovan Group) as a part of its SMA General Speaker Series. Lt Col Snow began by stating that technology is advancing at an “exponential plus” rate. High-capability technologies are becoming increasingly accessible to individuals for a low price and with a low skill requirement, a small footprint, and a high level of signature reduction. Lt Col Snow provided a few examples of such technologies, while focusing on a series of do-it-yourself (DIY) tools, and spoke about hacking as a service at both the national and regional level. She then discussed a virtual nation called Bitnation and posed the following question: “What would happen if, in the future, we have a virtual, super-empowered nation, and individuals decide that the benefits that they have as a member of this virtual society exceed those of their physical society?” Lt Col Snow then focused on SOFWERX, a company designed to “overcome barriers and promote interagency collaboration.” She elaborated that SOFWERX provides a physical and virtual platform to allow individuals from across the globe to interact. It also offers a safe space for participants to engage in “messy” discussions about technology and security. She emphasized that SOFWERX is a 100% open source environment that includes all nations (except China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) and provides individuals with an opportunity to gather unique global insights and crowdsourced technologies. She then discussed SOFWERX’s Digital Citizen Network and presented some of its major accomplishments. Lastly, Lt Col Snow spoke about the USSOCOM J5 Donovan Group, whose goal is to “increase and accelerate access to networks across the Inter Agency and the private sector for the purpose of illuminating innovative ideas and solutions.” She concluded by outlining a few previous and upcoming events that the Donovan group has organized and highlighted its TechWatch newsletter as well.
Lt Col Jennifer “JJ” Snow is the Donovan Group Innovation Officer for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), J51 Futures Plans and Strategy Division, and the SOFWERX Team. In this role, she serves as the military representative for technology outreach and engagement, working to bridge the gap between government and technology communities. Her mission is to foster collaboration, identify smart solutions to complex challenges, and guide the development of future technology policy to benefit special operations.
Lt Col Snow entered the U.S. Air Force in November 2002 after graduating from Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. She began her career with Air Force Special Operations Command, later serving as an intelligence instructor supervisor with Air Education and Training Command. She was selected as one of General Keith B. Alexander’s Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program interns at the National Security Agency.
Prior to her current assignment, Lt Col Snow was a graduate student at the Naval Postgraduate School, where she studied emerging disruptive technologies with a focus on what she terms “Radical Leveling Technologies”—a fast-moving class of innovations with significant national security implications. Her research was presented to members of the National Security Council at the White House.
Her current work examines Radical Leveling Technologies and the emerging construct of Virtual Nations, addressing their broad implications and exploring innovative policy solutions. She emphasizes leveraging the expertise, access, and capacity of technology users and developers to support USSOCOM’s mission while enabling technology for good.
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