Defend America, One Laptop at a Time

[Commentary] Our economy, energy supply, means of transportation and military defenses are dependent on vast, interconnected computer and telecommunications networks. These networks are poorly defended and vulnerable to theft, disruption or destruction by foreign states, criminal organizations, individual hackers and, potentially, terrorists. Acknowledging such threats, President Obama recently declared that digital infrastructure is a "strategic national asset," the protection of which is a national security priority. One of many hurdles to meeting this goal is that the private sector owns and controls most of the networks the government must protect. This is a dangerous state of affairs, because the firms that build and run computer and communications networks focus on increasing profits, not protecting national security. They invest in levels of safety that satisfy their own purposes, and tend not to worry when they contribute to insecure networks that jeopardize national security. This is a classic market failure that only government leadership can correct.