Wars used to announce themselves with troop movements, air-raid sirens, and closed skies. Today, the opening move is often invisible. By the time physical conflict begins, the digital battlefield has already been shaped. Modern warfare often begins when adversaries quietly penetrate digital systems such as traffic cameras, mobile phones, logistics networks, and data platforms.
As President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran escalates, we are already seeing reports about new moves to protect data centers in the United States, which could be large targets. Digital targets for cyberattacks also include electric grids and water supply systems throughout the country, which are largely run online and vulnerable to hackers.
If a nation does not control its physical borders, it does not have a sovereign nation. The U.S. has finally closed its physical border, which means it’s time to secure our digital borders too.
REP. ANDY OGLES: WE ARE ALREADY IN A CYBERWAR. WILL WE SHAPE IT OR SIMPLY CONTINUE REACTING TO IT
Cyber operations are profoundly reshaping the opening moments of war. In recent conflicts, including the 12‑day war and “Operation Epic Fury,” cyber espionage played a decisive role in enabling the initial strike against command‑and‑control leadership. Recent reports detail that Trump used the Claude artificial intelligence engine to develop many of the early Iran targets.
The lesson here is clear: once adversaries can breach a nation’s digital system, including surveillance networks, mobile devices, and other everyday infrastructure, they silently exploit this information to plan their attacks. Intelligence gained from these cyber intrusions allows operations planners to identify the exact locations of key leaders and neutralize them simultaneously during the initial wave of strikes.
This is a new model of warfare. Cyber espionage now determines when war begins. The side that controls digital intelligence can reduce the time, resources, and casualties required to achieve military objectives.
Modern societies now depend on digital infrastructure as deeply as they once depended on railroads, ports, and power plants. Data centers, cloud platforms, financial systems, energy networks, and logistics platforms support every function of daily life and project economic strength.
These systems are interconnected and largely operated by the private sector. Unfortunately, this means that they are unevenly protected. When these systems are disrupted, the consequences can ripple instantly through markets and supply chains, eroding public confidence and even risking public safety.
This is where America’s current approach falls short. Cybersecurity is still treated as a collection of separate responsibilities rather than a shared national mission.
There are four pillars of digital defense: government, military, academia, and the private sector. Each pillar brings essential capabilities. The government provides strategy, intelligence, and authority. The military understands adversaries and escalation. Academia develops talent, research, and innovation. The private sector owns and operates much of the infrastructure itself.
All too often, these pillars function as independent silos, pursuing their responsibilities separately rather than as a unified national effort.
When the four pillars operate as independent silos, they create exactly the kind of fragmentation that cyber adversaries are designed to exploit. We need a unified national effort. It is critical that we bring together the government, the military, universities, and the private sector to defend America’s digital infrastructure effectively.
The security of our digital borders now sits at the intersection of national security, innovation, and economic strength. No single pillar can solve the problem alone. We need to share intelligence, coordinate priorities, and build a sustained collaboration across all four pillars.
Coordinated digital “border security” fosters innovation, strengthens competitiveness, and builds economic resilience. The same collaboration that reinforces digital defenses can also be a force for new technologies, new companies, and new talent pipelines.
CONGRESS FINDS RARE AGREEMENT ON CHINESE ESPIONAGE THREATS TO US DRIVERS
The lesson from the Iran conflict should make us pause: what happens if we fail to control our digital borders? And how do we protect the same AI infrastructure we used to guide our attacks on Iran?
Sovereignty in the 21st century will depend not only on physical borders, but on digital borders. The stakes could not be higher, and now is the time for more national attention and White House discussion of this security threat.
Arnie Bellini is a Tampa-based entrepreneur best known for co-founding ConnectWise, a pioneering information technology software company, and for his forward-thinking investments in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and environmental conservation.