The Department of Defense (DOD) released an unclassified summary of its classified 2023 Cyber Strategy.

The 2023 DOD Cyber Strategy, which DOD transmitted to Congress in May, is the baseline document for how the Department is operationalizing the priorities of the 2022 National Security Strategy, 2022 National Defense Strategy, and the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy. It builds upon the 2018 DOD Cyber Strategy and will set a new strategic direction for the Department.

“This strategy draws on lessons learned from years of conducting cyber operations and our close observation of how cyber has been used in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said. “It has driven home the need to work closely with our allies, partners, and industry to make sure we have the right cyber capabilities, cyber security, and cyber resilience to help deter conflict, and to fight and win if deterrence fails.”

The United States faces diverse, growing threats in cyberspace and the strategy outlines how DOD is maximizing its cyber capabilities in support of integrated deterrence and employing cyberspace operations in concert with other instruments of national power.

The strategy highlights DOD’s actions to invest in and ensure the defense, availability, reliability, and resilience of its cyber networks and infrastructure to support non-DOD agencies in their related roles and to protect the defense industrial base.

“Distinct from previous iterations, the strategy commits to increasing our collective cyber resilience by building the cyber capability of allies and partners.” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy Mieke Eoyang said. “It also reflects the department’s approach to defending the homeland through the cyber domain as well as prioritizing the integration of cyber capabilities into our traditional warfighting capabilities.”

The strategy is the fourth iteration for the Department, and the first to be informed by years of significant cyberspace operations.

This press release by the U.S. Department of Defense was first published on September 12, 2023.

Summary 2023 Cyber Strategy, U.S. Department of Defense, PDF, 24 pages. (released to public by DoD on September 12, 2023) https://media.defense.gov/2023/Sep/12/2003299076/-1/-1/1/2023_DOD_Cyber_Strategy_Summary.PDF