Lawmaker Wants to Clarify Pentagon’s Authority for Cyber Operations

House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Howard McKeon has called for legislative language to clarify that the Pentagon can launch secret cybersecurity operations to support military efforts and guard against network attacks. In a release of his draft bill of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2013, the Republican lawmaker pushed for a clause to confirm that the Pentagon has “the authority to conduct clandestine military activities in cyberspace.” Such operations could be taken to protect against cyber attacks or as an extension of military policy if Congress authorized use of force outside the United States, according to the document.