Digital Sovereignty and Communities

In September, I was invited to give a talk on digital sovereignty, which is a hot topic these days, given that an increasing number of states seem to depend on a handful of hyperscalers from just two countries. Most solutions range from the fairly naive 'Just use Linux' to the probably overly ambitious 'Let's build our own hyperscalers'. I won't comment on the former, but I will add that building a hyperscaler is not a trivial undertaking. However, one thing that is constantly forgotten is that great technology doesn't develop in isolation. Silicon Valley is called that for a reason, not Silicon Island.

All of the companies that played a key role in developing the internet as we know it today, with all its ups and downs, depended on engineers who came up with ideas, tested them out and moved on. There are only a few people in our industry who have worked for just one organisation their entire lives, and they probably didn't work in isolation. The flow of ideas and inspiration depends on people having these ideas and inspirations, and moving around. I think this was possible in Silicon Valley because movement was accepted and encouraged.

I believe the same is true of our community. We keep preaching that incident responders collaborate across borders. I’m sure that, in places like Silicon Valley, people also move between organisations. But, more importantly, FIRST members have always collaborated across geographic boundaries. This can be frustrating, and it's probably why our annual conference is such a great event — because we get to meet each other. Outside of the annual conference, however, we have to stick to what we have: a virtual community supplemented by local activities.

This community is not guaranteed. As it grows and the world becomes more polarised, we must ensure that we maintain it. I feel that some of our members are quietly disappearing and that others are not participating. This is not a good sign. As incident responders, we must accept that other organisations may have different priorities and challenges. However, we should insist that requests are made in good faith and that we make them in good faith too.

This may all sound a bit clichéd, and it probably is. However, let's ensure that we continue to work together as a community. If you’re not sure how to start, have a look at our website: Take a look at our website, ethicsfirst.org, which provides some guidance.

Published on FIRST POST: Jul-Sep 2025