Interview
a16z Podcast | Government, Startups, & Innovation -- with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter
- The Department of Defense expects to launch no more GPS satellites shortly once chip-based navigation becomes viable, aiming to eliminate satellite reliance for smart objects manufactured with integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes, and precision clocks that provide permanent location, time, and orientation data.
- MEMS technology development and procurement are committed to regardless of high costs to ensure national security and freedom from jamming risks, with the expectation that costs will eventually decrease for broader commercial adoption.
- The Department of Defense plans to establish an innovation unit in Silicon Valley to foster partnerships with venture capital firms and startup companies, initiating three to four pilot projects while seeking to preserve independent growth for startups.
- Funding for basic research on long-term, risky national security projects will remain at a brisk rate despite budget pressures and sequestration to maintain readiness for future technological needs.
- A dedicated unit will be created to facilitate direct interaction between innovators and end-users to overcome organizational silos, leveraging the government's status as the world's largest IT buyer to lead markets for IT and security companies.
- The Department of Defense intends to pioneer new, potentially expensive security techniques with the expectation of spin-offs to the commercial sector, while addressing the late stage of industry investment in cybersecurity at the CEO level.
- Future responses to cyber threats may involve intervention by law enforcement, Homeland Security, or the Defense Department once hacking rises to the level of an unacceptable attack, moving beyond passive perimeter defense to an interactive approach monitoring both internal and external networks.
- Greater innovation is targeted in threat sharing information, which requires quiet execution and network-speed processing, alongside preparations to treat severe cyber-harming as an actual attack involving defense, intervention, and counterattack capabilities.