U.S. To Conduct And Counter Cyber Attacks More Freely
A new cyber security strategy signed on Thursday by President Donald Trump, will now allow the U.S. conduct and counter cyber attacks more freely says the National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
โOur hands are not tied as they were in the Obama administration,โ Bolton said while outlining the National Cyber Strategy directive. Although Bolton did not provide exact details, officials say the new strategy โeliminates a lengthy process of consensus-building across the governmentโโ before the U.S. can conduct offensive action, according to the New York Times.
Bolton said the U.S. would โthrough both offensive and defensive cyber actions โฆ create structures of deterrence that will reduce malign behaviour in cyberspace.โ
He warned that nations conducting malicious cyber activity against the U.S. should expect it to respond โoffensively as well as defensively.โโ
There is growing concern about possible cyber-attacks ahead of national mid-term elections in November.
Americans in cyberspace are โunder attack every day,โโ Bolton said.
โMalicious nation-state, criminal, and terrorist actors seek to steal our intellectual property and our personal information, damage our infrastructure, and even undermine our democracy.โโ
