The Trump administration is reportedly looking to rescind Presidential Policy Directive 20 an important policy memorandum that currently guides the approval process for government-backed cyberattacks.
Three current U.S. officials familiar with the topic told CyberScoop under the guise of anonymity, the effort is driven in part by a desire to create a more streamlined channel to greenlight the offensive cyber operations of military leaders.
The framework in question has been a point of frustration inside the Pentagon long before Trump came into office as there has been a long-running turf was between different federal agencies regarding how cyberattacks should be used to protect the homeland.
Senior U.S. intelligence officials have expressed concern that their own covert cyber operations could be discovered if the directive is rescinded such as those pursued by the CIA or NSA that could be revealed by more disruptive-style attacks from the military.
The news comes as lawmakers question whether or not the bureaucratic red tape is preventing the U.S. Cyber Command from responding to previous Russian cyber incidents.
