The White House has “authorized offensive cyber operations” 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.
“Our hands are not tied as they were in the Obama administration,” Bolton said during a news briefing to unveil a new national cyber strategy.
[Read the Trump administration 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 governments’ attempts to target U.S. networks and interfere in November’s 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 nation’s critical networks.
Bolton’s remarks are consistent with the Trump administration’s posture toward cyber deterrence, which is considered to be more aggressive in comparison to former administrations’ positions….
