Cyber wars

CIA conducted aggressive covert cyber operations against Iran, China, as Trump gave it more power: report

The Central Intelligence Agency, using new powers, carried out aggressive covert cyber operations against countries including Iran, North Korea, China and Russia, a new report says.

The operations came after President Trump gave the CIA “sweeping authorization” in 2018 by signing a "presidential finding," according to Yahoo News, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.

With a presidential finding, the president authorizes covert action necessary to support “identifiable foreign policy objectives" that are deemed "important to the national security of the United States,” according to a U.S. government document.

The authorization undoes “many restrictions that had been in place under prior administrations,” and gives the CIA more leeway in authorizing its own covert cyber operations, the Yahoo News report said.