US cyber responses will be ‘linked to adversary actions’ and involve industry coordination, official says

Future U.S. government responses in cyberspace will be “linked to adversary actions” and will involve coordination between the private sector and smaller governments, a top White House official said Thursday.

The dynamic, which will be codified in a forthcoming national cyber strategy, is meant to make clear that foreign adversaries’ actions that target U.S. networks have consequences, according to Alexandra Seymour, who serves as the principal deputy assistant national cyber director for policy in the Office of the National Cyber Director.

“To do this, we will need to coordinate closely with state and local governments and the private sector, including critical infrastructure owners and operators, who are often at the front lines of our cyberdefense,” Seymour said at CyberScoop’s CyberTalks event in Washington, D.C.

Her remarks align with a broader desire in the Trump administration to take a more gloves-off approach to countering foreign rivals when ...