Military-digital complex

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

<p>It was not until the late 19th and early 20th century that weaponry advanced in leaps and bounds to the armaments mankind witnesses today, however even then industry was relatively independent of the government and military. <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> and <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a> were two important factors that led to the consequent <a href="/facts/Military-industrial_complex/kII2vzyQ">military-industrial complex</a>. <a href="/facts/Eric_Hobsbawm/FIEL5Qay">Eric Hobsbawm</a> in his book <i><a href="/facts/Age_of_Extremes/4jWyAJsx">Age of Extremes</a></i> outlines how categorically countries like Japan, USA and Russia had to develop their own military industry to support their militaristic efforts,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> creating a complex whereby the economies then straddled on this arms industry. Consequently, the procurement of <a href="/facts/Missile/C5VwQClz">missiles</a>, <a href="/facts/Ballistics/3WHTox0u">ballistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Nuclear_weapon/QVdBcMdm">nuclear weapons</a>, <a href="/facts/Destroyers/bkYL7bI8">destroyers</a> and <a href="/facts/Submarine/6fhcAKHV">submarines</a> shows a marked difference between the ancient acquisitions of countries.
</p><p>At the dawn on the 21st century, the world has seen an emergence of digital equipment in the use of warfare, spanning from satellite surveillance systems all the way to dedicated agencies such as <a href="/facts/United_States_Cyber_Command/G09JxTAm">United States Cyber Command</a> fully equipped with thousands of professionals manning computers on a 24/365 basis in order to prevent a cyber attack.
</p><p>The use of computers has long been an essential tool in warfare, however as warfare moves from the traditional frontiers of land, sea, air and space to "cyber space" the use of computers is becoming not only essential but vital. Gregory Rattray, author of <i>Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace</i>, explains how the history of warfare in the <a href="/facts/Information_Age/PJUfNEx5">Information Age</a> is far reaching and is well beyond military operation including financial crime and economic espionage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> The history of this cyber warfare shows that it crosses global boundaries and encompasses political agendas, attacks on the USA such as <a href="/facts/Titan_Rain/5fSpXfPA">Titan Rain</a> show an attack from networks and computers situated in China for example. As the age of digital warfare progressed it has become evident that human reliance on technological equipment to monitor essential utilities such as our electricity grids has proven cataclysmic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> As the threat became increasingly relevant, the emergence of big corporate players on the MDC scene including names such as <a href="/facts/NortonLifeLock/uWvBqako">Symantec</a>, <a href="/facts/McAfee/yIytBc4w">McAfee</a> and traditional defense contractors such as <a href="/facts/Northrop_Grumman/M6keKE1A">Northrop Grumman</a> and <a href="/facts/Lockheed_Martin/URp9BQpA">Lockheed Martin</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> as the cyber threat grows so does mankind's reliance on corporate players such as the aforementioned, creating an <a href="/facts/Iron_triangle_(US_politics)/N5cljgvS">iron triangle</a> among government, military and these global security corporations.
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_industrial_complexes/8yyuXIpJ">List of industrial complexes</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/James_Langevin/IawXjMqj">James Langevin#Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Michael_McCaul/ufHyPSFX">Michael McCaul#Legislation</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Dan_Geer/Vvx2wTnR">Geer, Dan</a> (15 October 2008), <a href="http://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/risky-business-83-military-digital-complex">"Risky Business #83 — The Military Digital Complex"</a>, <i>Risky.Biz</i>, retrieved 11 April 2011</li>
<li>Meer, Haroon (10 March 2011), <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113981026464808.html"><i>Lessons from Anonymous on cyberwar</i></a>, Al Jazeera English, retrieved 13 March 2011</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Washington Post Official Site - Cyber Operations". Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-03-11. <a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/functions/cyber-ops" target="_blank">http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/functions/cyber-ops</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Cyber war in the fifth domain". The Economist. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-07-19. <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/16478792" target="_blank">http://www.economist.com/node/16478792</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"military digital complex revealed". risky.biz. Retrieved 2010-07-10. <a href="http://risky.biz/wapost" target="_blank">http://risky.biz/wapost</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"Cyber war shortage threatens US security". NPR. Retrieved 2010-07-19. <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128574055" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128574055</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"The Age Of Extremes, Eric Hobsbawm". www.history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-01. <a href="http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/28" target="_blank">http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/28</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2001. ISBN 9780262182096. Retrieved 2011-03-11. <a href="9780262182096" target="_blank">9780262182096</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>"Spies hack US electricity Grid". CNET. Retrieved 2009-04-08. <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10214898-54.html" target="_blank">http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10214898-54.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>"Pentagon plans new Cyberspace war command". Reuters. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2009-05-29. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-cyberspace-sb-idUSTRE54S0XQ20090529" target="_blank">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-cyberspace-sb-idUSTRE54S0XQ20090529</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Military-digital complex open-in-new

Military-digital complex