Cyberwarfare in the United States Cyberwarfare in the United States is the United States Cyber Command ' s military strategy of Proactive Cyber Defence and the use of cyberwarfare as a platform for attack . The United States Department of Defense sees the use of computers and the Internet to conduct warfare in cyberspace as a threat to national security . The Joint Forces Command issued a statement : " Cyberspace technology is emerging as an " instrument of power " in societies , and is becoming more available to a country ' s opponents , who may use it to attack , degrade , and disrupt communications and the flow of information . With low barriers to entry , coupled with the anonymous nature of activities in cyberspace , the list of potential adversaries is broad . Furthermore , the globe - spanning range of cyberspace and its disregard for national borders will challenge legal systems and complicate a nation ' s ability to deter threats and respond to contingencies . " However , decades of failure to learn between " silos " in agencies or departments has led to the failure of major United States Armed Forces IT projects and the waste of billions of dollars . Also while the United States federal government has invested heavily in cybersecurity contractors , it has failed to establish standards for these companies or properly manage them . In addition these contractors cost nearly twice as much as federal employees who do the same jobs . The Five Pillars . The five pillar s is the framework for the United States military strategy for cyberwarfare . The first pillar is to recognize that the new domain for warfare is cyberspace similar to the other elements in the battlespace . The second pillar is proactive defenses as opposed to passive defense . Two examples of passive defense are computer hygiene and firewalls . The balance of the attacks require active defense using sensor s to provide a rapid response to detect and stop a cyber attack on a computer network . This would provide military tactics to backtrace , hunt down and attack an enemy intruder . The third pillar is critical infrastructure protection ( CIP ) to ensure the protection of critical infrastructure . The fourth pillar is the use of collective defense , which would provide the ability of early detection and to incorporate them into the cyberwarfare defence structure . The fifth pillar is maintain and enhance the advantage of technological change . This would include improved computer literacy and increasing artificial intelligence capabilities . Cyberattack an act of war . The new United States military strategy , makes explicit that a cyberattack is " casus belli " for a traditional act of war . This is controversial ; Howard Schmidt , the cybersecurity leader of the US , said in March 2010 that " there is no cyberwar . . . I think that is a terrible metaphor and I think that is a terrible concept . There are no winners in that environment . " In September 2012 , the State Department chief legal advisor , Harold Koh , announced that certain cyber attacks may constitute a " use of force " , and are subject to international law and rules of war . In 2013 , a U . S . Department of Defense task force stated that nuclear weapons could be used in response to a cyber attack . United States Cyber Command components . United States Cyber Command . The United States Cyber Command ( USCYBERCOM ) is a United States armed forces sub - unified command subordinate to United States Strategic Command . USCYBERCOM plans , coordinates , integrates , synchronizes and conducts activities to : direct the operations and defense of specified Department of Defense information networks and ; prepare to , and when directed , conduct full spectrum military cyberspace operations in order to enable actions in all domains , ensure US / Allied freedom of action in cyberspace and deny the same to our adversaries . " Army Cyber Command . The Army Cyber Command ( ARCYBER ) is an Army component command for the U . S . Cyber Command . ARCYBER has the following components : Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command . United States Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect infrastructure from cyberwarfare . Navy Cyber Forces . The Navy Cyber Forces ( CYBERFOR ) is the type commander for the U . S . Navy ' s global cyber workforce . The headquarters is located at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story . CYBERFOR provides forces and equipment in cryptology / signals intelligence , cyber , electronic warfare , information operations , intelligence , networks , and space . In September 2013 , the United States Naval Academy will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to major in Cyber Operations . Twenty - Fourth Air Force . The Twenty - Fourth Air Force ( 24 AF ) is a Numbered Air Force ( NAF ) with the United States Air Force ( USAF ) . The USAF is consolidating its cyberspace combat forces into 24 AF . The Twenty - Fourth Air Force , will be the Air Force component of United States Cyber Command ( USCYBER ) . The 24AF has the following components : United States Tenth Fleet . The United States Tenth Fleet is a functional formation of the United States Navy . It was first created as an anti submarine warfare coordinating organization during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War . It has been reactivated as Fleet Cyber Command . The tenth fleet components are : Cyberwarfare activities in the U . S . . Cyberwarfare limitation treaty . American General Keith B . Alexander endorsed talks with Russia over a proposal to limit military attacks in cyberspace , representing a significant shift in U . S . policy . Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity and Information Assurance . In response to cyberattacks that occurred during the Bush years , and denied stronger tools by the Republican congress , Obama has used executive authority to join together government and private sector cyber security to be able to respond to cyber attacks directed at the American defense industry in general .