Dave Farber
2018-09-22 02:46:44 UTC
Date: September 22, 2018 at 10:58:06 GMT+9
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] White House authorizes 'offensive cyber operations' to deter foreign adversaries
[Note: This item comes from friend Mike Cheponis. DLH]
White House authorizes âoffensive cyber operationsâ to deter foreign adversaries
By Ellen Nakashima
Sep 20 2018
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-authorizes-offensive-cyber-operations-to-deter-foreign-adversaries-bolton-says/2018/09/20/b5880578-bd0b-11e8-b7d2-0773aa1e33da_story.html>
The White House has âauthorized offensive cyber operationsâ against U.S. adversaries, in line with a new policy that eases the rules on the use of digital weapons to protect the nation, national security adviser John Bolton said Thursday.
âOur hands are not tied as they were in the Obama administration,â Bolton said during a news briefing to unveil a new national cyber strategy.
He did not elaborate on the nature of the offensive operations, how significant they are, or what specific malign behavior they are intended to counter.
The Trump administration is focused on foreign governmentsâ attempts to target U.S. networks and interfere in Novemberâs election. The strategy incorporates a new classified presidential directive that replaced one from the Obama administration, Bolton said. It allows the military and other agencies to undertake cyber operations intended to protect their systems and the nationâs critical networks.
Boltonâs remarks are consistent with the Trump administrationâs posture toward cyber deterrence, which is considered to be more aggressive in comparison to former administrationsâ positions. He cast the latest move as part of an effort to âcreate structures of deterrence that will demonstrate to adversaries that the cost of their engaging in operations against us is higher than they want to bear.â
In general, the presidentâs directive â called National Security Presidential Memorandum 13, or NSPM 13 â frees the military to engage, without a lengthy approval process, in actions that fall below the âuse of forceâ or a level that would cause death, destruction or significant economic impacts, said individuals familiar with the policy who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.
âAs a policy matter, Boltonâs remarks likely mean the administration is willing to take more risks than previous administrations, but the proof will be in the results,â said Michael Daniel, who was cyber coordinator for the Obama Administration.
Trumpâs strategy builds on those put forward by previous administrations and incorporates initiatives already underway, such as using a ârisk-managementâ approach to addressing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
Overall, the strategy almost mirrors the Obama administrationâs national cybersecurity action plan issued in 2016, which grew from the best practices developed in the cybersecurity industry and the Commerce Department, said Ari Schwartz, a former senior cyber official for the Obama administration.
The strategy âdoes not go far enough in accelerating the reforms that need to be made,â said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), who co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. Itâs good to clarify the roles of federal agencies in protecting critical infrastructure, he said, but âthe document often fails to provide the strategic guidance regarding what trade-offs we should expect to makeâ between regulating and responding to the needs of those who operate critical systems.
Langevin said it is ironic that Bolton eliminated the position of White House cyber coordinator when he took office earlier this year. Langevin said cyber coordinator is âthe very position best able to address these trade-offs at a national level.â
Bolton said he did so to âeliminate the duplication and overlapâ on the National Security Council staff. He said other directorates â intelligence and counterproliferation, for instance â were headed by directors but did not have a coordinator above that position.
The issue of responding to cyber provocations has been hotly debated for years. The Obama administration was criticized for being too slow and too timid. Some former officials pushed back, saying the obstacle to responding aggressively to a foreign cyberattack was not the policy, but the inability of agencies to deliver a forceful response.
âWhen you got to the point of saying, âOkay, what do you have for us?â there was not much ready to go,â said Schwartz, now managing director for cybersecurity services at the law firm Venable.
The new White House document comes on the heels of a Pentagon cyber strategy issued this week that focuses on China and Russia as the United Statesâ top adversaries. âThis is attributed to their roles, respectively, in eroding U.S. military and economic vitality and challenging our democratic processes,â said Kate Charlet, a former senior Pentagon cyber official who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Defense Department strategy also calls for âconfronting threats before they reach U.S. networks.â U.S. Cyber Command has always been tasked with defending the nation against attacks while operating outside U.S. borders. Now defensive activity will take place in the context of âday-to-day great power competitionâ rather than in crisis.
[snip]
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-------------------------------------------Subject: [Dewayne-Net] White House authorizes 'offensive cyber operations' to deter foreign adversaries
[Note: This item comes from friend Mike Cheponis. DLH]
White House authorizes âoffensive cyber operationsâ to deter foreign adversaries
By Ellen Nakashima
Sep 20 2018
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-authorizes-offensive-cyber-operations-to-deter-foreign-adversaries-bolton-says/2018/09/20/b5880578-bd0b-11e8-b7d2-0773aa1e33da_story.html>
The White House has âauthorized offensive cyber operationsâ against U.S. adversaries, in line with a new policy that eases the rules on the use of digital weapons to protect the nation, national security adviser John Bolton said Thursday.
âOur hands are not tied as they were in the Obama administration,â Bolton said during a news briefing to unveil a new national cyber strategy.
He did not elaborate on the nature of the offensive operations, how significant they are, or what specific malign behavior they are intended to counter.
The Trump administration is focused on foreign governmentsâ attempts to target U.S. networks and interfere in Novemberâs election. The strategy incorporates a new classified presidential directive that replaced one from the Obama administration, Bolton said. It allows the military and other agencies to undertake cyber operations intended to protect their systems and the nationâs critical networks.
Boltonâs remarks are consistent with the Trump administrationâs posture toward cyber deterrence, which is considered to be more aggressive in comparison to former administrationsâ positions. He cast the latest move as part of an effort to âcreate structures of deterrence that will demonstrate to adversaries that the cost of their engaging in operations against us is higher than they want to bear.â
In general, the presidentâs directive â called National Security Presidential Memorandum 13, or NSPM 13 â frees the military to engage, without a lengthy approval process, in actions that fall below the âuse of forceâ or a level that would cause death, destruction or significant economic impacts, said individuals familiar with the policy who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.
âAs a policy matter, Boltonâs remarks likely mean the administration is willing to take more risks than previous administrations, but the proof will be in the results,â said Michael Daniel, who was cyber coordinator for the Obama Administration.
Trumpâs strategy builds on those put forward by previous administrations and incorporates initiatives already underway, such as using a ârisk-managementâ approach to addressing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
Overall, the strategy almost mirrors the Obama administrationâs national cybersecurity action plan issued in 2016, which grew from the best practices developed in the cybersecurity industry and the Commerce Department, said Ari Schwartz, a former senior cyber official for the Obama administration.
The strategy âdoes not go far enough in accelerating the reforms that need to be made,â said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), who co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. Itâs good to clarify the roles of federal agencies in protecting critical infrastructure, he said, but âthe document often fails to provide the strategic guidance regarding what trade-offs we should expect to makeâ between regulating and responding to the needs of those who operate critical systems.
Langevin said it is ironic that Bolton eliminated the position of White House cyber coordinator when he took office earlier this year. Langevin said cyber coordinator is âthe very position best able to address these trade-offs at a national level.â
Bolton said he did so to âeliminate the duplication and overlapâ on the National Security Council staff. He said other directorates â intelligence and counterproliferation, for instance â were headed by directors but did not have a coordinator above that position.
The issue of responding to cyber provocations has been hotly debated for years. The Obama administration was criticized for being too slow and too timid. Some former officials pushed back, saying the obstacle to responding aggressively to a foreign cyberattack was not the policy, but the inability of agencies to deliver a forceful response.
âWhen you got to the point of saying, âOkay, what do you have for us?â there was not much ready to go,â said Schwartz, now managing director for cybersecurity services at the law firm Venable.
The new White House document comes on the heels of a Pentagon cyber strategy issued this week that focuses on China and Russia as the United Statesâ top adversaries. âThis is attributed to their roles, respectively, in eroding U.S. military and economic vitality and challenging our democratic processes,â said Kate Charlet, a former senior Pentagon cyber official who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Defense Department strategy also calls for âconfronting threats before they reach U.S. networks.â U.S. Cyber Command has always been tasked with defending the nation against attacks while operating outside U.S. borders. Now defensive activity will take place in the context of âday-to-day great power competitionâ rather than in crisis.
[snip]
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