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Google Engineers Refused To Build Security Tool To Win Military Contracts (bloomberg.com)
Mark Bergen reports via Bloomberg: Earlier this year, a group of influential software engineers in Google's cloud division surprised their superiors by refusing to work on a cutting-edge security feature. Known as "air gap," the technology would have helped Google win sensitive military contracts. The coders weren't persuaded their employer should be using its technological might to help the government wage war, according to four current and former employees. After hearing the engineers' objections, Urs Holzle, Google's top technical executive, said the air gap feature would be postponed, one of the people said. Another person familiar with the situation said the group was able to reduce the scope of the feature.
The act of rebellion ricocheted around the company, fueling a growing resistance among employees with a dim view of Google's yen for multi-million-dollar government contracts. The engineers became known as the "Group of Nine" and were lionized by like-minded staff. The current and former employees say the engineers' work boycott was a catalyst for larger protests that convulsed the company's Mountain View, California, campus and ultimately forced executives to let a lucrative Pentagon contract called Project Maven expire without renewal.
The act of rebellion ricocheted around the company, fueling a growing resistance among employees with a dim view of Google's yen for multi-million-dollar government contracts. The engineers became known as the "Group of Nine" and were lionized by like-minded staff. The current and former employees say the engineers' work boycott was a catalyst for larger protests that convulsed the company's Mountain View, California, campus and ultimately forced executives to let a lucrative Pentagon contract called Project Maven expire without renewal.
Make no mistake, these people were NOT creampuffs or snowflakes. I would describe this move as downright machiavellian. They overpowered their own company, forced it to give up lucrative contract, managed to do it in such a way that they were outside the blast radius of consequences like all the people who would have to be fired because of this. Yeah.. not 'snowflakes'... cold calculating career oriented assholes.
Their objection was, "we do not like military contracts, we do not want Google to seek more military contracts, and therefore we refuse to do this work because it will make us more competitive for military contracts." Many businesses would fire employees who actively work to harm the company in such a way.
Not so much.
If it became known that careers depend on doing something that one considers to be morally wrong, some group of employees would take the job. Because they have kids to feed, or just don't want a termination on their resume. So now you have a morale problem. People doing things that they don't really like. And they might actually sabotage the program. Or leak details to the enemy.
Companies that do this kind of sensitive work as part of their business will vet their staff ahead of time and encourage those who might have qualms about the application of their work to move into a non classified program. Google is a big place and I'm sure something can be found for conscientious objectors to do.
Have gnu, will travel.