The US Department of Defense (DoD) has unveiled its 2023 Cyber Strategy through an unclassified summary, which encompasses both offensive and defensive cyber plans.
A central focus of this strategy involves reinforcing the cyber capabilities of allies and partners, with the aim of enhancing collective resilience against cyberattacks. The DoD intends to achieve this by augmenting partner capacities, expanding their access to cybersecurity infrastructure, and providing training events and exercises to help mature their cyber workforce.
Furthermore, the strategy emphasizes the defense of the nation and its critical infrastructure, encompassing not only actual defense but also the disruption and degradation of threat actors’ capabilities and infrastructure. The Pentagon is particularly concerned about the growing malicious cyber activities by China and Russia, viewing them as efforts to counter US conventional military power and weaken the Joint Force’s combat capability.
In addition to these immediate goals, the DoD seeks to ensure the long-term impact of its efforts. This involves optimizing the organization, training, and equipping of Cyberspace Operations Forces and Service-retained cyber forces. It also includes ensuring the availability of timely and actionable intelligence for cyberspace operations and exploring the intersection of emerging technologies and cyber capabilities.
The DoD intends to foster a culture of cybersecurity and cyber awareness, investing in the education, training, and knowledge development of personnel throughout the defense enterprise.
As part of its broader cybersecurity initiatives, earlier in the year, the DoD launched the ‘Hack the Pentagon’ website, aimed at assisting its organizations in launching bug bounty programs and recruiting security researchers.
To date, the Pentagon has conducted over 40 bug bounty projects, including ‘Hack the Pentagon,’ ‘Hack the Air Force,’ ‘Hack the Army,’ ‘Hack the Marine Corps,’ ‘Hack the Defense Travel System,’ ‘Hack DHS,’ and ‘Hack US.’
