In an interview with the Financial Times, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter confirmed on April 6 that the country is beginning cyber warfare against ISIS. Carter went on to state that the U.S. Cyber Command team will start launching online attacks against the self-proclaimed Islamic state group.
"I have given Cyber Command really its first wartime assignment ... and we're seeing how that works out," Carter told the news source. "Even a few years ago, it would not have occurred to a Secretary of Defense to say, 'let's get cyber in the game,' but here we have real opportunities."
The Cyber Command team was formed in 2009 in an effort to accelerate digital attacks. However, the government has rarely elaborated on its initiatives since its creation.
Shortly before Carter's announcement, there had been scrutiny over President Obama's cyber warfare policy. Senators came together on April 5 to criticize the administration for failing to create a more solid cyber warfare strategy.
"The administration's cyber policy as a whole remains detached from reality," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said during a hearing. "For years our enemies have been setting the norms in cyberspace while the White House sat idly by hoping the problem would fix itself."
Senator and U.S. Cyber Command Leader Deb Fischer added onto McCain's statements, asking how the group is expected to create definitive plans without a solid policy in place.
National Security Agency Director Michael Roger testified at the hearing, claiming that the administration is clearly still focused on an "event-by-event" approach to cyber incidents.
"Something terrible is going to happen and a lot of people are going say, 'Why didn't we have a policy?'" Senator Angus King stated at the hearing.
However, some cyber security talk has been made by the president himself as of late. At the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C., Obama stated on March 31 that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about cybersecurity.
"We have deep concerns about our ability to protect the intellectual property of our companies," Obama said in joint remarks with Jinping. "I very much appreciate President Xi's willingness to have candid conversations on these issues in a constructive way."
