In an age of digital warfare run by the corporations, data and destruction go hand in hand. Information is a weapon, and any technological lead is a leg up in the battle. The Conduit breaker is a short range hacking device, designed to pry into servers and retrieve valuable data before completely burning out the targets ability to function.
I know, it's a weird concept. This was initially a form study, to a upper atmosphere fighter, to a nano machine, and then to this, so if it's fuzzy on the edges, I get it.