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Trump, Seeking To Relax Rules on US Cyberattacks, Reverses Obama Directive (wsj.com)
President Trump has reversed an Obama-era memorandum dictating how and when the U.S. government can deploy cyberweapons against its adversaries, in an effort to loosen restrictions on such operations [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], WSJ reports. From the report: Mr. Trump signed an order on Wednesday reversing the classified rules, known as Presidential Policy Directive 20, that had mapped out an elaborate interagency process that must be followed before U.S. use of cyberattacks, particularly those geared at foreign adversaries. The change was described as an "offensive step forward" by an administration official briefed on the decision, one intended to help support military operations, deter foreign election influence and thwart intellectual property theft by meeting such threats with more forceful responses. The Trump administration has faced pressure to show that it is taking seriously national-security cyberthreats -- particularly those that intelligence officials say are posed by Moscow.
And the GOP House? Can Trump simply ignore *those* dictates? Because the McCain Defense Authorization Bill, requires he cannot accept Russian soverignty of Crimea, and the first thing he did was annul that clause with a signing statement.
"President Donald Trump said in a statement he reserves the right to ignore the defense authorization law’s ban on U.S. recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, among 50 other provisions he says tread on his authority as president.,....Trump objected to four of eight provisions focused on Russia. For example, the law would limit the use of federal funds to recognize Russian control over Crimea, "
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/08/14/trump-signals-he-may-ignore-russia-provisions-in-defense-bill-he-just-signed/
To be clear, this is a Republican House asserting the USA's position on Russia, that's he's reversing. It's not partisan, it's Trump vs American interests.
Can I remind you that Wagner, the Russian contractor that attacked the US position Al Tabiyeh, in Syria had Kremlin authorization, according to intercepted communications. So we're not just as some sort of vague fluffy cyber war with Russia, they are actively attacking military positions too.
Meanwhile a few traitors from the GOP, who thankfully do not represent the majority, visit Putin seeking help in the upcoming elections. Two visit so far, with GOP people promising *not* to vote for further sanctions, no matter how bad Russia is. I'm sure US troops don't feel stabbed in the back by that as Russia troops fire missiles at them.
Yeh we get it, it's election time and they'll do anything to get power, even side with US enemies. Traitors.
Meanwhile, he fumes at European allies, lies about Canada and Mexico, and can't take responsibility for his lies or even his child detainment centers.
The European allies that have been draining the US dry for decades? Those "allies?"
"His" child detainment centers?! What are you even talking about? You do know that separating children from their parents was a policy that was authorized by a Democrat-controlled Congress way back during the Bush administration and then later put into force by Obama. When Obama did it, it was "protecting children." But now that the policy is continued under Trump they're now "child detainment centers?!" And you're accusing President Trump of lying?!!
That's hilarious. The scale of electronic collection operations increased dramatically under Obama. Or do you think the Utah Data Center was built for shits and giggles?
But regardless, this is not/should not be a partisan issue, and one of the most compelling reasons to limit offensive operations and strengthen vulnerability disclosure rules is that we all use the same shit. If the NSA or other TLA is actively exploiting vulnerabilities in common platforms such as OSes, routers, or cellular infrastructure, then they are, by definition, leaving America's identical technology vulnerable to the exact same attacks by our adversaries. By leaving ourselves vulnerable, we are trading access to our own secrets -- from classified government information, to corporate trade secrets, to political party internals -- for access to information that we should reasonably be able to collect through other means. It's shooting ourselves in the foot and hoping the ricochet hits our enemies.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere