Trump sends cyber warfare strategy to Congress

President Trump has sent to Congress a long-awaited report on U.S. policy for deterring and responding to attacks in cyberspace.

The policy was sent to the House and Senate committees with oversight of the departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice, according to a letter released Thursday by the White House.

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Lawmakers from both parties have been pressing the administration for a comprehensive cyber strategy for several months. An annual defense policy law approved last year mandates that Trump develop a national policy for cyberspace and cyber warfare. 

The president strongly objected to the provision at the time because it made funding for the White House Communications Agency contingent on him producing the strategy. 

The text of the letter sent Thursday contains no clues about the actual contents of the report. An aide to the Senate Armed Services Committee told The Hill that the document is classified. 

Lawmakers have raised concerns for successive administrations about the lack of a comprehensive policy on deterring and responding to aggression in cyberspace.

In March, a bipartisan group of senators wrote to Trump that he should issue the strategy as soon as possible, arguing that the lack of clearly spelled out consequences for cyberattacks “has served as an open invitation to foreign adversaries and malicious cyber actors to continue attacking the United States.” 

“Notwithstanding the good intentions of Congress and the executive branch, including eight years of the Obama Administration and over a year into your Administration, the United States has failed to formulate, implement, and declare a comprehensive cyber doctrine with an appropriate sense of urgency,” they wrote. “We urge you to end this state of inaction immediately.”

The cyber strategy comes as the White House is undergoing a shake-up of its cybersecurity staff, which the resignation of homeland security adviser Tom Bossert and the impending departure of cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce.