Donald Trump on Monday called for the government to develop “offensive technologies” in the arena of cybersecurity, telling a veterans’ group that cyber would be an “immediate and top priority” in his administration.
“As a deterrent against attacks on our critical resources, the United States must possess the unquestioned capacity to launch crippling cyber counterattacks,” Trump told the audience in Herndon, Va. “This is the warfare of the future, [and] America’s dominance in this arena must be unquestioned.”
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Citing cyberattacks against companies like JPMorgan Chase, eBay and Target, as well as the 2015 breach of the Office of Personnel Management, Trump said he would order the Department of Justice to establish task forces capable of working with state and local authorities to combat future threats. He said he would also work toward “strengthening and augmenting” the military’s Cyber Command, and establish a review force to assess the state of federal cybersecurity.
“To enhance the defense of the other agencies of government, including our law enforcement agencies, we will put together a team of the best military, civilian and private sector cybersecurity experts to comprehensively review all of our cybersecurity systems and technology,” Trump said. “The Cyber Review Team will proceed with the most sensitive systems first, but ultimately all systems will be analyzed and made as secure as modern technology permits.
Trump said he envisioned the reviews taking place annually in order to establish methods of defending against external cyberattacks and internal threats. He also argued Hillary Clinton was an example of an insider who had compromised sensitive information, and said he would seek to reform the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
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“Those who violate classification rules will be held responsible to the fullest extent of the law. I will appoint an attorney general who will reform the Department of Justice like it was necessary after Watergate,” Trump said, adding that he would “restore the integrity” of the department.
While the candidates faced some questions about cybersecurity during debates early in the primary cycle, the issue has largely been absent from the campaign trail over the past several months. The topic has subsided as an issue in the election despite persistent cyberattacks against political institutions, including the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
On Monday, Trump called for a renewed focus on the issue. “Today is just the beginning of a long and overdue national discussion of how to protect ourselves from modern cyber-crime and evolving national security threats, and how to develop the cyber offense strategies necessary to gain a critical security edge in the 21st century.”
