The Militarization of Corporate Business Amongst the wreckage of a major movie release, the United States government is facing an existential question: What is defined as critical infrastructure? Under White House directive, the US Military is responsible for protecting the countries critical infrastructure such as the power grid and the banking system. Does a US subsidiary of a Japanese entertainment business constitute critical infrastructure? Sony Pictures pulled the release of The Interview due to threats that theaters showing the film would be attacked in some way shape or form. Per the government, evidence suggests that North Korea is behind the hacking incident and the threats. Whether such threats could be carried out is not the subject of this article but it is unlikely that a coordinated effort to attack movie theaters would proceed without detection by our law enforcement establishment. Should the United States government decide that the interests of the American people do not include defending business from cyber attacks, what is the next step? Already, businesses of a certain size employ security departments that protect their personnel and assets from threats, both physical, cyber, and intellectual. A business such as Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with approximately 140,900 employees employs a large security force. From night watchmen to bodyguards for key personnel and the folks trying to unravel and protect the companys information technology infrastructure from the existing and future attacks, Sony has a significant security infrastructure. Boards of Directors all over the world are already considering these cyber risks as one of the highest priorities on their agendas. If the United States decides that Sony must protect itself, what then? Could we see an increase in paramilitary forces, such as those typically outsourced private security firms protecting business folks doing business in Iraq, Afghanistan, or even Mexico, becoming significant departments of major global businesses?
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 13:30:43 +0000
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