Every president lays down cyber policies that the next administrations can build upon and AI has worked its way into U.S. war plans while credit rate caps have the industry protesting and Google's acquisition of Wiz is making Europe jittery.
Presidents Vary in Approach to Cybersecurity
Presidents come and go, but their cybersecurity policies often outlast their administrations, shaping the priorities and tools of those who follow. Federal cyber strategy has evolved significantly since President Ronald Reagan issued National Security Decision Directives granting the NSA authority over government computer systems handling sensitive (though not classified) data, and Congress passed the Computer Security Act of 1987, designating NIST to lead the protection of non-classified federal systems. In more recent decades, Commanders-in-Chief have overseen major shifts — for instance, from perimeter-based security to zero trust architectures — while elevating supply chain security and strengthening international collaboration to combat ransomware and establish global cybersecurity standards. In recognition of Presidents Day, Tech-Channels examined cybersecurity strategy, priorities and milestones under five presidents.
The $32B Cloud Showdown: Why Google’s Wiz Deal Has Europe on Edge
While the U.S. cleared Google’s $32 billion deal with Wiz last November and the cloud provider is reportedly facing a $3.2 billion breakup fee if the deal collapses, the next test is in Europe, where the European Commission has launched a Phase I antitrust investigation. A preliminary decision is due by February 10, and while most cases don’t move beyond this stage, the Commission can escalate to a more detailed Phase II review, especially if questions of market concentration or infrastructure dependency arise. The Google-Wiz deal is the largest cloud security acquisition to date and one of eight cybersecurity M&A deals in 2025 that exceeded $1 billion. With previous acquisitions like Mandiant, Chronicle, and Siemplify, Google has steadily strengthened its portfolio to compete with Microsoft and Amazon. Wiz adds something unique to that mix: a visibility layer that’s widely deployed, highly trusted, and designed from the start to sit outside any single cloud ecosystem.
War at Machine Speed: The DoW’s AI Strategy Demands Precision Control
The Department of War’s AI Acceleration Strategy reframing how militaries fight, build, and make decisions outlines a force-wide shift: from legacy processes to autonomous execution at scale. Seven Pace-Setting Projects will drive this transformation, with each accountable to a single leader and adhering to an aggressive delivery schedule. This structure favors velocity, experimentation, and integration over deliberation or consensus. The War Department will mobilize significant program funding, draw on the expanded Joint Acceleration Reserve, and deploy resources from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to fast-track military AI integration. It will coordinate with allies to align AI capabilities and security priorities under President Trump’s international AI agenda.
Proposed Credit Rate Cap Sparks Industry Pushback in U.S.
President Donald Trump’s call for a one-year 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates continues to meet with opposition from lenders, though it is unclear if the demand will move forward. The populist proposal aimed to grant relief to Americans who are currently paying between 20-30 percent APR on credit cards. However, the hastily introduced mandate, which would require congressional action to go into force, has sparked backlash from across the financial sector due to its unprecedented nature, vague legal basis, and potentially negative impacts on credit availability. In his post on Truth Social on January 9, Trump gave banks and card issuers just 11 days to comply. By January 20, however, no actual law was in force compelling them to reduce interest rates, resulting in most issuers keeping their APRs unchanged. Although practical and legal hurdles remain before the proposal can become law, it hasn’t stopped lenders from sounding the alarm, citing concerns around bank profitability, credit contraction and how lenders price risk.
Wall Street’s AI Transition: A Structural Shift in How Money Thinks
As AI becomes a driver of organizational cognition, the biggest firms in banking, investment management, private equity, and fintech are rethinking how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how competitive advantage is built. And they are doing so by building systems that extend human expertise. Data points and firm examples supporting this premise are detailed in a Business Insider piece. A broader pattern is revealed when those dots are connected. The largest banks are building systems that leverage vast organizational scale to enable streamlined execution. At JPMorgan Chase, $18 billion in annual tech spend supports platforms used by over 200,000 employees. Goldman Sachs mirrors this logic.