It has been revealed in the recent years more than ever that the digital infrastructure plays a vital role in determining the quality and self-efficiency of any public or private institution at any scale. Implementing such complex systems is definitely not enough, as quoted by Hart et al. (2014) “Attackers are now capable of shutting down network servers and Cloud-based systems, affecting both companies and individuals and even raising national security concerns.”. Considering the fatal economic consequences of such hurdles, it is crucial for the American government to allocate sufficient resources with the required technical and human skills. One of the most important professions that is the backbone of any digital infrastructure is DevOps Engineering. It is also important to note that DevOps is a recently derived term of expertise, which is also known as Network Engineering and System Engineering in the past. Another known similar term to keep in mind is Platform Engineering.
Importance to National Security
Cybersecurity practices that can be applied to the digital infrastructure through DevOps Engineering poses outstanding importance to the U.S. national security. In order to ensure this, not only the government but also every private institution must also comply and collaborate with the efforts guided by the legislation. Hiller & Russell (2013) depicted in Figure 1 how the U.S. Executive Order effects a firm’s cyber risk.
Figure 1. The effect of the U.S. Executive Order on cyber risk
It is clear that any critical cyber threat which cannot be mitigated through the DevOps infrastructure of a firm would eventually cause a threat to the national security, along with other consequences.
It has been quoted in 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment report by U.S. Department of Homeland Security that “We expect adversarial state cyber actors will continue to seek access to, or to pre-position themselves on, US critical infrastructure networks. In particular, PRC state-sponsored actors could exploit such access or pre-positioning for cyber attacks in the event of an imminent conflict or periods of heightened tensions and potentially disrupt critical functions that support our economy, critical services, and way of life–possibly including continuity of government.”.
Economic Impacts
The impacts of digital infrastructure risks to the economy had been examined thoroughly by different government entities and academic researchers in the recent years. Pate-Cornell et al. (2018) stated that “Cyber attacks can affect—and in some cases already have—various forms of the U.S. critical infrastructure, including the electric power grid, seaport operations, air traffic control, and several other services vital to the nation’s economy.”. Figure 2 depicts the decision diagram structure of how such malicious acitivities occur and its economic implications throughout the occurrence (Pate-Cornell, 2018).
Figure 2. Decision diagram structure for the choice of options regarding cyber security.
The Council of Economic Advisers at the Executive Office of the President of The United States has estimated in The Cost of Malicious Cyber Activite to the U.S. Economy – February 2018 report that malicious cyber activity cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and $109 billion in 2016. As also quoted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience Report – July 2025, “The Reserve Banks, as in the prior years, continued their focus on strengthening the security of the U.S. payment system, which includes fortifying and optimizing the cybersecurity posture and operational resilience of the suite of payment applications operated by the Federal Reserve Financial Services.”. These efforts also prove the extent of economic impact that might be caused if correct approaches are not applied into any digital infrastructure through DevOps Engineering.
What is more, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales 2nd Quarter 2020 report provided by U.S. Department of Commerce indicates at the time of COVID-19 pandemic, there had been an increase of 31.8 percent at retail e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the first quarter of 2020. This data is a strong indicator of how the digital infrastructure readiness would have significant impact on the economy at times of unprecedented nation-wide demand.
Labor Demand
According to Spidalieri, there is insufficient funding, lack of senior level engagement, increasingly sophisticated threats and shortage of skilled talent continue to plague efforts across the United States (Spidalieri, 2015, p. 4). A more recent study described in Cybersecurity Workforce Demand report updated on June 2023 by National Institute of Standards and Technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce also reveal that there is a global shortage of 3.4 million in cybersecurity professionals, and some of the top cybersecurity job titles are Cybersecurity Analyst, Software Developer, Network Engineer and Systems Engineer.
Conclusion
In today’s world where economies have become fragile by cyber threats, infrastructure outages and financial instabilities, DevOps Engineering, also known as Platform Engineering or Network Engineering, has evolved from a software development and delivery methodology to a national interest asset, that plays a crucial role in the most critical fields of a country such as public services, healthcare, education and infrastructure. Considering the involvement of digital infrastructure at every aspect of our lives, DevOps Engineering offers high efficiency of web services, continuous delivery of software infrastructure and the economic independence of the United States. Advancing on this field is a continous act of endeavor that will ensure the safeguarding of national security and solidifying economic resilience.