Through its adaptability and openness, DPI boosts resilience by reducing single points of failure and dependencies that can be weaponized by adversaries.
In the national security context, DPI can bolster resilience and safeguards through enabling adaptability and mitigating systemic risks.
Calls to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system (a significant global financial player) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were initially met with alarm by some states in the EU, as the situation brought into focus their own vulnerabilities. From their perspective this sanction measure was a gamble: with Germany, France and Italy concerned that companies owed money by Russian businesses would struggle to be paid, and consequently their economies would suffer. It also brought to light the fact that if SWIFT could be used against a G20 economy, it could theoretically be used against any country that falls foul of powerful states that control access to the payment system.
The dependence on digital systems located in other countries that are predominantly controlled and influenced by both powerful state actors and multinational providers is a growing concern. A DPI approach requires an evaluation of whether existing dependencies are secure and adaptable to changing geopolitical conditions, an assessment of the costs for mitigating any identified risks and a blueprint for addressing those vulnerabilities.
Using DPI that can be controlled domestically, countries can create sovereign alternatives in case of global digital disruption or political instability. Robust domestic digital payment infrastructure, for instance, can support a state’s internal economy in the short term, even if access to international systems is disrupted. DPI typically positions the governance, data and operational control of critical digital systems within national borders or under publicly accountable entities. This contrasts sharply with pursuing seemingly cheaper or more convenient siloed technology solutions by relying on foreign-based corporations or international bodies influenced by a few powerful states. Sovereign control can enhance a country’s ability to ensure the system serves national interests, is flexible to change and cannot be easily shut down or manipulated externally.
Innovation in domestic digital infrastructure capacity has been felt most keenly in conflict and crisis. The Russian invasion of Ukraine significantly accelerated Kyiv’s pursuit of resilient DPI solutions to public service provision, originally a 2019 campaign pledge by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s sovereign Diia platform – launched just before, and perhaps in anticipation of, the invasion – was designed to federate data storage and be resilient to cyberattacks, and it was adapted quickly to provide new services in war, including the distribution of war bonds and secure channels to report Russian troop movement. It successfully maintained access to citizen services after February 2022 by migrating to distributed cloud servers with the support of US providers. However, Ukraine’s dependence on foreign – predominantly US-based – cloud and cybersecurity service providers still raises complex questions about national resilience and DPI.
Elsewhere, digital ID and direct digital payment systems are credited with recently enabling the Bangladeshi government to pre-emptively distribute anticipatory mobile transfers of $37 to each person likely to be affected by forecasted floods, improving readiness and reducing the impact of floodwaters.
DPI approaches emphasize open standards, interoperable solutions and modular components. These principles contribute to a country’s digital resilience by reducing single points of failure: should a system fail, the impact is contained, and alternative or complementary systems can continue to function, ensuring adaptability and continuity of essential services and faster recovery. Moving away from siloed solutions broadens familiarity with common digital systems, thereby enhancing internal expertise, organizational capacity and resilience.
The participation of multiple vendors and operators in the development and supply of a digital system further reduces the risks associated with being reliant on one vendor. As previously mentioned, the 2024 Crowdstrike glitch that crippled hospital systems and grounded air traffic following a faulty software update underscored the vulnerability of critical systems to single points of failure. Despite prompting calls for urgent reviews of critical digital systems, single-vendor provision of operating systems, cloud computing and network infrastructure remains the default. Commenting on a review by the US Cyber Safety Review Board into a major government security breach, Senator Ron Wyden stated that although ‘the government’s dependence on Microsoft poses a serious national security threat’, given the federal government’s overwhelming dependence on the technology provider it would be very difficult to replace the company. Similarly, there are growing European fears about the continent’s dependence on Microsoft products, with an internal European Commission review judging that ‘there are no known credible offerings from European providers’ that could replace the US software giant.
While a DPI approach boosts security it also has second-order benefits for national resilience and productivity. By committing to developing and maintaining resilient digital infrastructure, a nation must foster a robust pool of its own digital talent. This growth in domestic expertise reduces reliance on foreign specialists for critical maintenance, ongoing development and rapid responses to cybersecurity threats. In addition, it ensures that the knowledge and skills necessary to secure and steward a nation’s digital foundations can be found at home. The UK’s AI strategy explicitly names public and private UK talent as a central pillar. For organizations such as NATO, improvements in domestic digital capacity are central for extending and bolstering intergovernmental resilience.
By taking responsibility for the provision of robust digital systems, Ukraine and other countries have shown a credible path forward for digital infrastructure that strengthens national resilience and security.
