The Department of Defense has released its first new cyber strategy document since 2015. The document affirms that the U.S. “cannot afford inaction,” and that U.S. cyber operations must more “amplify military lethality and effectiveness” more offensively. Defense officials conducted a review of the department’s cyber capabilities and strategy that remains classified, but the recommendations emanating from this review are public and include several broad challenges the department currently faces. These challenges are comprised of the workforce (insufficiency of cyber experts and the need to cultivate and recruit more), capabilities (importance of continual expansion and development), and processes (inefficiencies and redundancies). The summary also also underscores the threats that China and Russia pose through “long-term strategic competition” in cyber space, while also naming North Korea and Iran as states that have “similarly employed malicious cyber activities to harm U.S. citizens and threaten U.S. interests.” The conclusion highlights a more offensive posture, declaring that “should deterrence fail, the Joint Force stands ready to employ the full range of military capabilities in response…we will defend forward to disrupt or halt malicious cyber activity at its source, including activity that falls below the level of armed conflict.”
Source: DoD releases first new cyber strategy in three years
