The first is that General Nakasone’s aggressive new posture — which Cyber Command describes with terms like “persistent engagement” and “defend forward” — may be working. The phrases refer to going deep inside the computer networks of adversaries, whether that means the Internet Research Agency, the Russia-based group that mounted the 2016 influence campaigns; the G.R.U., Russia’s military intelligence agency; or Iran’s increasingly active cybercorps. Once inside, Cyber Command can use its access to hunt for operations that are being planned — or to conduct what amount to pre-emptive strikes. The United States has launched such strikes before, of course, against Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea’s missiles and, during the 2018 elections, the Internet Research Agency, which ran the influence campaign that aided Mr. Trump in 2016. This time General Nakasone did not wait for much evidence to roll in before acting.

Source: International New York Times November 09, 2020 21:33 UTC