ASSESSMENTS

A New, More Aggressive U.S. Cybersecurity Policy Complements Traditional Methods

Oct 5, 2018 | 10:00 GMT

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Jan. 31, 2017, White House meeting with cybersecurity experts. Senior adviser Jared Kushner and then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly (now White House chief of staff) are also pictured. The Trump administration released a new National Cyber Strategy in September.

(CHIP SOMODEVILLA/Getty Images)

Highlights

Recent moves by the Trump administration appear to loosen previous restrictions on U.S. offensive cyber operations.
A more offensive policy will complement, not replace, the traditional U.S. methods of maintaining cybersecurity: regulation, cooperation with the private sector and the legal process.
A best-case scenario for a U.S. cyberattack would be disabling computer systems and networks being used against U.S. interests to prevent an attack from happening or to disrupt an attack that is in progress.
Perhaps the main challenge to U.S. engagement in tit-for-tat cyberattacks is that the United States is by far the biggest target for such attacks.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump released its National Cyber Strategy on Sept. 20, which most notably indicated a greater willingness than before to conduct offensive cyber operations against adversaries. Discussing the strategy, national security adviser John Bolton hinted that the administration had already taken steps to bolster offensive efforts in recent weeks, warning that the United States is no longer just playing defense when it comes to cybersecurity. But despite the Trump administration's more hawkish tone regarding cybersecurity, it will continue mainly to rely on traditional measures such as the legal process, regulations and cooperation with the private sector when it comes to cybersecurity....

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