U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, right, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speak at a press conference at the Pentagon on April 16, 2015 (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Clydell Kinchen).

When the U.S. Department of Defense released its latest cyber strategy last week, it laid more than just another brick in the edifice of cybersecurity that the government has been building for decades. Coming just a few weeks after President Barack Obama’s Executive Order setting out a policy framework for sanctioning malicious cyber actors, the new strategy marks a significant evolution in Washington’s understanding and approach to providing security in the digital age. That’s because it comes with a warning to potential adversaries: The United States will no longer only be reactive in its cyber defenses, as the Pentagon will […]

A specialist works at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), Arlington, Va., Sept. 9, 2014 (AP photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta).

On April 1, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order expanding Washington’s ability to deter cyberattacks, by empowering the government to apply financial sanctions on hackers and companies overseas that benefit from cyber-espionage. The directive authorizes the secretary of the treasury, in consultation with the attorney general and secretary of state, to impose sanctions on individuals and entities that he determines are responsible for, or complicit in, malicious cyber-enabled activities that may constitute a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability. The measure was no April Fool’s Day joke. Indeed, it reflects a move […]