Washington eyes new offensive cyber operations, with private sector help

The Washington Times ^ | Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | Ryan Lovelace

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The federal government is considering new options to aggressively counter foreign cyberattackers, with some in Washington considering the use of private companies to hit back.

The Biden administration created new partnerships with thousands of cyber companies, ostensibly to fortify defenses, share information and build resilience. As Republicans take charge across Washington with President Trump at the helm, some policymakers are considering using those private-sector partners in an offensive capacity.

During the House Homeland Security Committee’s first hearing of the new Congress, Rep. Clay Higgins questioned CrowdStrike Senior Vice President Adam Meyers about his view on his sector’s lack of ability to “strike back” against attackers.

“I think that there is a lot to be done to partner with law enforcement and those that have, the intelligence community as well and the military, that have the titled authority to take those actions and to support those operations,” Mr. Meyers told the Louisiana Republican, adding it was time to “increase the cadence” of those cyber operations.

“Just yes or no — if you had the legal authority to strike back, if Congress gave the cybersecurity industry the legal authority to strike back, would you be able to effectively identify the bad actor and do so?” Mr. Higgins said.

“We have the visibility to identify many bad actors,” Mr. Meyers said.

Amid China’s Typhoon hacking groups suspected of pre-positioning on American infrastructure in preparation for possible future sabotage, there is an appetite in the private sector for a more aggressive U.S. response.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Mark Montgomery, a former U.S. Navy officer, encouraged lawmakers to view suspected Chinese and Russian hacks of American infrastructure as akin to satchels of explosives strapped to American electrical power grids or port cranes.

[heavy metal]

washington commanders...

[nitzy]

Trump should put leverage on India to crack down on the massive “call centers” filled with con-artists who show up to work every single day to scam US retirees out of their life savings. These people work in 20 story buildings and work a normal 9-5 job as scammers.

We should tell India that not one more Indian will get an H1B Visa until all of these Scam Farms are shut down and the workers and owner are prosecuted.

Indian scammers steal over $10 BILLION dollars from US residents every year.

If they just stopped this cyber crime, it would be more beneficial to regular Americans than anything else they could do.

[libertylover]

The Biden administration created new partnerships with thousands of cyber companies, ostensibly to fortify defenses, share information and build resilience.

I always assumed this was a way for Biden to funnel money to big supporters more so than to do anything useful. Maybe I'm wrong.

[sergeantdave]

This article blows to hell the notion that the deep state is populated by 10-foot-tall Rambos with Einstein IQs. In fact, the so-called deep state is composed of alcoholics, narcissists, perverts, drug users and congenital idiots. The deep state would crumble like a month-old doughnut without considerable private sector involvement.

[sauropod]

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