US crafting framework for cyber offense: general

The United States is still crafting a legal framework to guide any offensive moves in cyberspace, months after the Pentagon unveiled a broad cyber strategy, the head of the military command responsible for such operations said. Deliberations on military doctrine and legal framework are "ongoing," Air Force General Robert Kehler, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told a defense writers' group. "I would say it's not completed." Gen Kehler has overall responsibility for the U.S. Cyber Command, a sub-unit that began operating in May 2010. Its mission is to protect Defense Department networks and, if ordered, to go on the offensive to make sure the United States retains the ability to use digitally networked systems on land, at sea and in the air. He said the military was still looking at "what kinds of options would we want to be able to offer" policymakers for going on the offense. One of the issues is what constitutes "active defense" in cyberspace, he said, equating it with actions that a ship's captain is authorized to take at sea to protect a ship.