Cyberwars

Lawmakers to Pentagon: Tell Us When You Use Cyber Weapons


Defense Department officials would be required to notify congressional overseers within 48 hours of launching any sensitive cyber operation under legislation introduced Thursday by top lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee.

The law would apply to both offensive and defensive cyber operations that leave DOD networks and produce effects outside locations where the U.S. is engaged in a hot war.

The law would not apply to covert actions, which are typically conducted by intelligence agencies rather than the uniformed military.

That means the Stuxnet attack against Iran’s nuclear capability, which is among the best-known offensive cyber operations and widely believed to have been launched, in part, by U.S. intelligence agencies, would not fall under the law’s requirements.

The law would also require the Pentagon to notify the House and Senate Armed Services Committees about any reviews of cyber weapons to determine if they can be used under international law.