Introduction
While parliaments debate oil prices and currency stability—like choristers in a poorly directed opera—the real power brokers of 2026 are watching entirely different indicators.
Forget lithium. Forget uranium.
The most valuable commodity on earth today cannot be touched, stored in barrels, or mined from the ground. Yet its absence can collapse markets, misdirect military operations, or erase billions in valuation within minutes.
We are speaking about information.
We are referring to specific, time-sensitive, and actionable data, rather than the abstract concept of information. This type of information can reroute a carrier strike group mid-ocean, expose a corporate vulnerability before a board meeting, or destabilize a government before morning coffee.
In today’s market, the value of information is determined by the price someone is willing to pay to either conceal it or release it at the most damaging moment.
From Sun Tzu to Silicon Valley
The commodification of information did not begin in the digital age. It is as old as civilization itself.
Long before algorithms and fiber optics, a Neolithic scout who knew the exact crossing point of a river held more strategic value than a dozen armed soldiers. The principle has not changed—only the speed and scale.
Sun Tzu, still studied in institutions from the Pentagon to leading business schools, formalized this understanding. His classification of spies and emphasis on deception laid the foundation for modern intelligence doctrine.
His central thesis remains intact: all warfare is based on deception, and deception depends on the quality and control of information.
Centuries later, Nathan Rothschild demonstrated the economic application of this principle. In 1815, his private intelligence network delivered news of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo a full day ahead of official channels. That 24-hour advantage allowed him to exploit market panic and consolidate unprecedented financial power.
It was, in effect, the first instance of high-frequency trading—executed not by machines but by the speed of information.
The Soft Trade: Convenience as Currency
In modern society, the most pervasive form of information exchange is neither covert nor contested. It is voluntary.
Every day, individuals participate in a global data economy under the illusion of convenience. A free coffee app, a discounted fuel program, or a fitness tracker appears benign.
Yet each interaction extracts a detailed behavioural profile: location data, purchasing habits, biometric indicators, and psychological responses.
To the user, this is a minor transaction. To the data broker, it is a fragment of predictive intelligence—aggregated, refined, and sold.
This is the “soft trade” of information: invisible, continuous, and highly profitable. The user generates value that others monetize, making them not just a consumer but also a product.
As Shoshana Zuboff (2019) argues in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, behavioural data has become the raw material for predictive economic systems, fundamentally reshaping power dynamics between individuals and institutions.
The margins are unparalleled. The resource is renewable. And the supply is infinite.
The Hard Trade: When Data Becomes Decisive
For those operating in security, intelligence, and military environments, information is not an abstract asset. It is operational reality.
The transition from “need-to-know” to “can-you-afford-to-know” reflects a fundamental shift. Information is no longer distributed based on hierarchy but on capability, access, and economic leverage.
Three primary actors dominate this space:
- State actors, pursuing algorithmic sovereignty to protect critical infrastructure and maintain strategic advantage
- Corporate entities, safeguarding proprietary models and intellectual capital in an AI-driven economy
- Digital intermediaries, facilitating access through cyber intrusion and network exploitation
The emergence of Initial Access Brokers (IABs) illustrates this evolution. These actors do not steal data directly; they identify vulnerabilities, secure entry points, and sell access to the highest bidder.
It is a commodified form of intrusion, operating with efficiency and anonymity.
At the highest end of the market sits the trade in zero-day vulnerabilities—previously unknown exploits capable of bypassing even the most advanced security systems.
Reports indicate that sophisticated “zero-click” exploits can command prices exceeding US$20 million (Greenberg, 2023).
The logic is simple: access to a secure device is access to decision-making itself.
Time, Not Territory
In contemporary conflict, the value of information is measured not only in accuracy but also in timing.
My experience in military operations and intelligence environments reveals that actionable intelligence and operational failure can differ by mere minutes. A delay of 10 to 15 minutes in targeting data can render an otherwise precise strike ineffective—or worse, dangerously misleading.
Information that arrives late is not neutral. It is a liability.
This principle extends beyond the battlefield. In financial markets, corporate strategy, and cybersecurity, delayed or inaccurate information leads to misallocation of resources and flawed decision-making.
The trade, therefore, is not for possession but for immediacy.
The Invisible Market
The modern information economy is sustained by a network of actors rarely visible to the public:
- Data refineries, where artificial intelligence systems transform raw data into predictive models
- Insiders, whose access to systems remains one of the most persistent vulnerabilities across sectors
- Grey-zone brokers, operating between legality and illegitimacy, facilitating transactions that shape outcomes without attribution
These actors do not operate in isolation. They form an interconnected ecosystem where value is created, traded, and weaponized.
The traditional image of espionage—a clandestine meeting, an envelope exchanged in a park—has been replaced.
Today, the threat is more likely to be identified through anomalous network traffic or unexplained financial behaviour.
The methods have evolved. The objective has not.
The Price of Silence
Information possesses a unique economic property: it is not diminished by use. Its value is determined by exclusivity.
If widely known, it becomes worthless. If held by only a few, it becomes decisive.
Equally significant is the management of information flow. In some cases, the strategic release of false or misleading information—disinformation—yields greater advantage than the protection of truth, as it can manipulate public opinion and influence decision-making processes in favor of those who control the narrative.
As Omand (2020) notes in How Spies Think, modern intelligence operations increasingly rely on shaping perception rather than merely collecting facts.
The result is an environment where the distinction between reality and narrative becomes increasingly blurred, leading to challenges in discerning truth from deception in public discourse.
Conclusion: The New Gold Standard
We have entered an era in which information is not merely a resource—it is the defining asset of power.
It influences military outcomes, financial stability, political legitimacy, and corporate survival. Its value is dynamic, volatile, and often invisible until it is too late, as it can shift rapidly based on the context and the actions of those who possess or seek to exploit it, such as in situations where strategic information can determine the success or failure of military operations or corporate strategies.
During a visit to Europe, I recalled a remark by the late military analyst Miroslav Lazanski, observing a modern tank during a parade: “It is an impressive machine—but if the enemy knows its frequency and targeting system, it becomes nothing more than a mobile stove.”
The observation remains relevant.
In 2026, the rules are neither subtle nor forgiving. If you are not actively managing your information, you are contributing to someone else’s advantage.
And in this global bazaar, the distinction is clear:
If you are not paying for the product,
You are the product.