The Defense Department could release its first overarching cyber strategy since 2023 as early as next week, with the plan expected to place offensive cyber operations, artificial intelligence and closer industry cooperation at the center of military planning. Three people familiar with the plan told Defense One that the department is preparing to publish the strategy early in the week, although the timing could change.
One of the three people predicted a Tuesday release, while the other two said the date could change. All three spoke anonymously about the planned announcement. The strategy has been developed over several months by the office of Katie Sutton, the assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy and the secretary’s principal cyber adviser. An accompanying action plan is also expected.
The framework is designed to bring digital operations more routinely into U.S. military campaigns. That would mean planning cyber capabilities that can disrupt an adversary’s communications or computer systems alongside airstrikes and other conventional operations. Officials have cited recent Trump-era operations in Venezuela and Iran as examples of this type of integration, Defense One reported.
Sutton outlined three priorities to lawmakers in April: integrating cyber capabilities across every domain of warfare, gaining an advantage over adversaries and reorganizing the military’s cyber forces to improve their skill and agility. The strategy is expected to deliver cyber options to combatant commanders and provide more specific military priorities and investments.
A job posting from defense and technology provider Parsons describes an action plan containing about nine strategic initiatives and 34 lines of effort. The posting does not disclose the initiatives’ contents, and its date is unclear. It does indicate that support for the Pentagon’s cyber policy office is expected to be part of the implementation effort.
The new framework will also translate the White House’s March cyber strategy into military priorities. That strategy called for using the government’s offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, disrupting threats before they reach U.S. networks and imposing greater consequences on foreign hackers. The Pentagon’s approach is expected to build on its 2023 “defend forward” posture, which focused on confronting malicious cyber activity closer to its source. The new strategy is also expected to emphasize delivering cyber options to combatant commanders and integrating them with conventional military power, Defense One reported.
Artificial intelligence is expected to receive prominent treatment. Sutton said in June that the strategy would establish a specific vision for enabling AI across the cyber force, with coordination among U.S. Cyber Command, the Pentagon’s chief information office and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. The Pentagon and National Security Agency have been expanding access to commercial models that can identify vulnerabilities and automate parts of cyber operations. NSA Deputy Director Tim Kosiba said the agency was seeking access to models from leading developers.
The strategy is tied to Cyber Command 2.0, an overhaul of how the military recruits, trains and employs cyber personnel. The initiative emphasizes specialized, purpose-built teams and a Cyber Innovation Warfare Center intended to bring commercial technology to operators for testing. The plan arrives as officials address an Iran-linked campaign seeking access to water systems and other critical infrastructure, an accelerated Defense Department migration to quantum-resistant encryption aimed at protecting its highest-impact systems by 2030, and a separate initiative allowing vetted U.S. companies to conduct government-approved operations against foreign cybercriminal groups. The company initiative also raises questions about how the Justice, Homeland Security and Defense departments will divide responsibilities and avoid interference among their cyber operations, Defense One reported.