{"id":17513,"date":"2018-09-19T02:43:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T02:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/19\/department-of-defense-unveils-new-cyber-strategy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:06:09","slug":"department-of-defense-unveils-new-cyber-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2018\/09\/19\/department-of-defense-unveils-new-cyber-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD releases first new cyber strategy in three years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In its first formal cyber strategy document in three years, the Department of Defense said it would focus its cyber efforts on China and Russia and use the Pentagon\u2019s cyber capabilities to collect intelligence as well as to prepare for future conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an unclassified summary<\/a> and fact sheet<\/a> released Sept. 18, the documents lay out a vision for addressing cyber threats and addresses the priorities of the department\u2019s National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, which focused on a new era of strategic great power competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe United States cannot afford inaction,\u201d the summary reads. It notes that China and Russia are conducting persistent campaigns in cyberspace that pose long term risk. The documents also say that China is eroding the U.S. military\u2019s ability to overmatch opponents and that Russia is using cyber-enabled information operations to influence the U.S. population and challenge democratic processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DoD\u2019s strategy comes on the heels of other major movements in cyberspace from the department. These include the elevation of U.S. Cyber Command to a full unified combatant command<\/a> \u2014 which affords new and exquisite authorities<\/a> \u2014 the full staffing of Cyber Command\u2019s cyber teams<\/a>, an update to DoD\u2019s cyber doctrine<\/a> and new authorities delegating certain responsibilities from the president to DoD to conduct cyber operations abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\t