{"id":15208,"date":"2019-07-16T20:47:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T20:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/16\/what-good-are-exceptional-cyber-capabilities-without-authority\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:53:18","slug":"what-good-are-exceptional-cyber-capabilities-without-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/it-networks\/2019\/07\/16\/what-good-are-exceptional-cyber-capabilities-without-authority\/","title":{"rendered":"What good are \u2018exceptional\u2019 cyber capabilities without authority?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of Defense nominee Mark Esper, speaking to senators during his July 16 confirmation hearing, shared his feelings that U.S. Cyber Command possesses \u201cexceptional\u201d cyber capabilities, but just as important is a streamlined framework for using them outside U.S. networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMaybe as important as our capabilities, last year the administration put out a new [National Security Presidential Memorandum] 13, which really put our cyber capabilities on a more offensive footing, allowing us to lean forward,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the previous process, approval for cyber operations had to go all the way to the president for approval. NSPM 13 now allows the president to delegate some of those authorities and reorganizes the approval process through the interagency.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/congress\/2019\/07\/12\/are-congress-and-the-white-house-on-a-collision-course-in-cyber\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19189755980059-Cropped.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Are Congress and the White House on a collision course in cyber?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Trump administration has ignored Congress&#039;s request to see documents governing cyber operations.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper credited the new process for the successful operations during the 2018 midterm elections that sought to mitigate threats to the democratic process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think for those reasons it\u2019s why you saw in the 2018 elections no issues. That\u2019s why I think we\u2019re more and more confident that the 2020 elections will also be\u201d unfettered, he said of NSPM 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper committed to senators that DoD will play its fair share when it comes to securing elections in the future, something that has previously drawn the ire of Congress, which has yet to see documents related to NSPM\u2019s authorities approval process, much to members\u2019 chagrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2017\/10\/19\/dod-says-it-shouldnt-protect-homeland-from-cyberthreats-mccain-disagrees\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636017101979378178-ap16168677159305jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DoD says it shouldn\u2019t protect homeland from cyberthreats; McCain disagrees<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee sparred with DoD representatives regarding the Pentagon&#039;s role in cyberspace in protecting the nation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper also remarked that both the public and private sector remain vulnerable to cyberattacks. In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armed-services.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Esper_APQs_07-16-19.pdf\" target=_blank>prehearing questionnaire<\/a> he offered almost identical responses to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/dod\/2019\/07\/12\/are-more-robust-cyber-partnerships-on-the-horizon\/\" target=_blank>Gen. Mark Milley\u2019s comments stressing the importance of partnerships for protecting the nation<\/a>. Milley has been nominated for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his confirmation hearing took place last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThrough a series of partnerships with DHS and sector-specific agencies (SSAs), such as the SSAs for the financial and energy sectors, DoD is executing \u2018Pathfinder\u2019 initiatives to build the expertise and gain the experience needed to support our critical infrastructure partners\u2019 efforts to anticipate, prevent, and respond to significant cyber incidents,\u201d Esper wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpecifically, we have focused on lessons learned from our election security efforts, and have focused on the sharing of threat information and collaborative analysis of vulnerabilities and threats. The Department has a plan to leverage the National Guard\u2019s resources and capabilities, and to expand these partnerships to other critical sectors where DoD and the private sector have shared interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials have noted that the pathfinder pilot program with the energy sector, specifically the Department of Energy, is fairly new. These pathfinders rely on the unique authorities DoD can bring to bear, such as operating outside U.S. networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOnce these secretaries sign these agreements, we don\u2019t necessarily bring the expertise in what\u2019s critical in the financial sector. We\u2019re looking for [Department of] Treasury, [Department of] Homeland Security to help us gain an understanding of what that is so that as we look overseas, that we\u2019re now focused on the things that are important to that sector in a way that we wouldn\u2019t have done without the partnership with DHS, Treasury and the sector,\u201d Maj. Gen. (s) Timothy Haugh, commander of the Cyber National Mission Force, told reporters in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s what some of these pathfinder activities have been really helpful for us to understand what is actually critical and how would we approach our operations for the different perspective to help them in their defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haugh added that these pathfinders allow DoD to apply its \u201cdefend forward\u201d approach \u2014 fighting adversaries in networks as far from the United States as possible \u2014 to the defense of these broader sectors and ultimately the homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Dual-hat<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper and Milley, both of which currently lead the Army, touched upon the ongoing issue of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/dod\/cybercom\/2019\/05\/15\/one-day-they-may-part-but-for-now-cyber-command-loves-working-with-the-nsa\/\" target=\"_blank\">dual-hat relationship between the National Security Agency and Cyber Command<\/a>, which share a leader, tools, infrastructure and staff to some extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milley, for his part, said his current view is the dual-hat arrangement presently is working well and should be maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper noted during his confirmation process the \u201cchallenge of determining whether the \u2018dual-hat\u2019 relationship should be maintained or terminated is balancing the U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency responsibilities and priorities in a way that is optimal for the national security of the United States,\u201d adding that both organizations will have a unique and enduring relationship regardless of the dual-hat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gen. Paul Nakasone, who leads both NSA and Cyber Command, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/dod\/cybercom\/2018\/08\/02\/cyber-command-chief-will-weigh-in-on-split-from-nsa\/\" target=_blank>delivered his assessment on the dual-hat to the chairman and secretary in August 2018<\/a>, 90 days after taking command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision on whether to split remains with the secretary, chairman and the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI understand that, if confirmed, my certification and that of the secretary is required before the current dual-hat leadership arrangement can be terminated,\u201d Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA recommendation to the president will require careful collaboration and coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, and must be fully informed by the benefits, costs and risk mitigation factors to ensure there is no degradation to national security,\u201d Esper wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary of Defense nominee Mark Esper spoke to Congress on the importance of a streamlined framework for authorizing cyber operations outside U.S. networks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[10,106,29,16,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3268],"class_list":["post-15208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyber","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-it-networks","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"SECDEF nominee: new cyber authorities just as important as cyber 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