Global Insights: The Pentagon’s Strategy for Cyberwar

Global Insights: The Pentagon’s Strategy for Cyberwar

According to a coordinated series of leaks to the media last week, the Pentagon is in the process of finalizing its first formal cybersecurity strategy. Several unnamed Defense Department officials have confirmed that the 30-page classified document will be completed later this month, with the Pentagon expected to release a declassified 12-page version as well.

The leaking, which was deliberate, may be a trial balloon to gauge domestic and international response to the strategy's tenets. That way the text could subsequently be revised, especially when it undergoes further White House review to ensure it harmonizes with the administration's overall cybersecurity policies.

According to the New York Times, the policy represents an early effort to comply with a White House order for various agencies to develop policies consistent with the International Strategy for Cyberspace presented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder on May 16, 2011.

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