White House officially sends lawmakers new cyber strategy

By Justin Doubleday / October 22, 2018 at 4:59 PM

The White House announced today it has officially sent Congress the new national cyber strategy, including a classified annex addressing the increased flexibility the U.S. military now has to launch cyber attacks.

In a missive to relevant congressional committees, including the armed services panels, President Trump attached the national cyber strategy and a classified annex, according to a White House statement. The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act requires the president to send Congress a report outlining U.S. policy on cyberspace, cybersecurity, cyber warfare and cyber deterrence. Lawmakers had long pressed successive administrations for an updated cyber deterrence strategy.

In September, national security adviser John Bolton announced the first updated national cybersecurity strategy in 15 years. He said Trump signed the new strategy based on "four pillars" of ensuring the security of federal networks and critical infrastructure, improving incident reporting, "peace through strength" commitments for deterring and responding to cyber aggression, and preserving a "vibrant digital economy."

Bolton also said the strategy's classified annex addresses Trump's move to repeal the Obama administration's Presidential Policy Directive-20 in order to ease restrictions on the Defense Department's use of offensive cyber capabilities.

Likewise, the Pentagon in September released a summary of DOD's new cyber strategy, which carves out a more active role for the military in protecting the United States from cyber attacks and engaging in "day-to-day" competition in cyberspace with Russia and China.

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