The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age

by David E. Sanger

At the core of these uprisings is a concept of corporate identity that is the complete reverse of the Cold War. Raytheon and General Dynamics flourished because they were part of an American defense establishment that armed the Western alliance. They were serving governments, not consumers, and so of course they willingly picked a side. Google and Microsoft do not share this view. Their customers are global, and the bulk of their revenue comes from outside the United States. They view themselves, understandably, as essentially neutral—loyal to the customer base first and individual governments second. Washington, in contrast, still views them as “American companies,” beneficiaries of American freedoms. In the Pentagon’s view, their expertise and technology should flow first to defend the nation that allowed them to form and flourish. These are two completely distinct worldviews, which, at least in peacetime, will never be aligned.