Trump Order Elevates Cyber Command

The National Security Administration campus in Fort Meade, Maryland.

The National Security Administration campus in Fort Meade, Maryland. Patrick Semansky/AP

CYBERCOM is now a full combatant command rather than a sub-unified command beneath U.S. Strategic Command.

President Donald Trump elevated U.S. Cyber Command to a full combatant command Friday, marking a crucial transition for the 7-year-old military unit that’s scheduled to reach full operating capability next year.

The elevation was authorized in the most recent version of an annual defense policy bill in November and CYBERCOM has been prepping for the elevation for much of this year.

The elevation will “streamline command and control of time-sensitive cyberspace operations by consolidating them under a single commander with authorities commensurate with the importance of such operations,” Trump said in a statement.

» Get the best federal technology news and ideas delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here.

The elevation will also “ensure that critical cyberspace operations are adequately funded” and “help reassure our allies and partners and deter our adversaries,” Trump said.

CYBERCOM’s new status will theoretically give its leaders a more direct line to the Pentagon, though CYBERCOM Chief Adm. Michael Rogers has said he often speaks directly to the Pentagon already.

Previously, CYBERCOM, based at Fort Meade, Maryland, was a sub-unified command beneath U.S. Strategic Command based in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Pentagon is also studying whether to split CYBERCOM from its sister intelligence agency the National Security Agency, according to Trump’s statements. Rogers currently heads both organizations and they share many capabilities.

The Obama administration studied that split extensively and appeared close to committing to it at the end of Obama’s second term, according to numerous reports.

The November National Defense Authorization Act placed several conditions on that split, including certifying to congressional armed services committees that CYBERCOM’s weapons, capabilities, command and control systems, and staffing are all ready for the job.

The split would also have to wait on CYBERCOM reaching full operating capability in 2018.

CYBERCOM’s mission includes assisting other military commands and units with defensive cyber operations and launching offensive cyber operations if directed by the president.

Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged the command was launching offensive cyber operations to disrupt Islamic State networks, but officials have not acknowledged other offensive cyberattacks and have generally been tight-lipped on the subject.

The command is also tasked with protecting military networks from cyberattacks at a strategic level, though operational-level protection is managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency and the DOD chief information officer's staff.

Elevating CYBERCOM is a relatively non-controversial move compared to splitting it from NSA.

Skeptics of the split say CYBERCOM’s capabilities will suffer if it can’t rely on NSA’s deep bag of cyber exploits. Advocates argue a military command and an intelligence agency have fundamentally different missions and combining them confuses both.

NSA would typically prefer to retain cyber exploits that might be damaging to U.S. companies and consumers if they can be used against adversaries, advocates of the split say, while CYBERCOM would prefer to expose vulnerabilities that will make the nation more secure.

A Government Accountability Office report from earlier this month tallied numerous downsides to the combination, including that it raised the risk of leaking NSA cyber tools and might diminish NSA’s ability to assist other government agencies.

On the plus side, retaining the organizations’ “dual hat” leadership structure, allows them to use resources more efficiently and make decisions faster, GAO said. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.