Senators call on President Trump to advance national cyber deterrence doctrine

Bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Service Committee urged President Donald Trump to advance a national cyber deterrence strategy on Thursday, noting that lack of clearly articulated consequence has served as “an open invitation” for cyber attacks against the United States.

The group, led by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), sent a letter to officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the State Department and the National Security Agency, stating that they have all deferred to the White House in congressional testimony about the nation’s cyber doctrine in recent years.

“Much like our nuclear deterrent, a strong cyber doctrine by the United States government would serve as a deterrent, which is not only necessary but critical to our nation’s survival in the digital age,” the letter stated. “Our adversaries need to understand the boundaries of what is acceptable in the cyber domain, as well as the circumstances under which we would utilize offensive capabilities to retaliate against cyber attacks.”

The senators called for an update on the status of the cyber deterrence strategy, the timeline of its progress and a timeframe for completion.

“Our increased reliance on the internet has created new threats and vulnerabilities to our nation’s infrastructure and our way of life,” the letter stated. “Critical infrastructure such as the electric grid, oil pipelines, air traffic control, and financial institutions all use the internet and can be manipulated, disrupted, and in some cases even destroyed. Beyond physical damage, state-sponsored disinformation and data manipulation campaigns have sowed lines of division and discord within our country and have targeted the very foundation of our democracy — the electoral process.”