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Following reports that the Biden administration is reconsidering a policy instituted four years ago, which allows the DoD and Cyber Command to launch cyber-ops without first getting approval from the White House, the merits of the policy are again being debated. Critics of the policy argue that it allows DoD to act without taking into account political and diplomatic considerations that would be applied during a White House approval process, and it leaves the Commander in Chief out of the decision-making process. Advocates argue that it enables the U.S. to respond with the speed needed in cyberspace, and that its repeal would impact Cyber Command’s policy of “persistent engagement,” in which it immediately contests adversary activities.

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