In a Wednesday hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee, Department of Defense (DoD) officials explained what the department’s new cyber strategy of persistent engagement and defending forward is all about.
According to the officials, persistent engagement means that DoD cyber experts constantly need to be active in cyberspace to monitor the activities of adversaries and detect potential malicious activity. In addition, DoD personnel should be able to take their efforts to networks outside of the US under certain conditions, as this strategy of defending forward will enable them to better understand threats and detect attacks in advance. According to one official, this approach “is critical to increasing military readiness,” since the department “cannot be fully prepared to take effective action in a potential conflict unless we have already developed the tools, accesses and experience through our actions day to day.”
However, certain policy makers and analysts are concerned that the more proactive cyber strategy may increase the likelihood of tensions between the US and its adversaries in cyberspace escalating in a way that will trigger an unnecessary conflict.
