The Department of Defense released the DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (DSOC) July 14. (Download this document using the button to the right).

It is the first DoD unified strategy for cyberspace and officially encapsulates a new way forward for DoD’s military, intelligence and business operations.

“It is critical to strengthen our cyber capabilities to address the cyber threats we’re facing,” said Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta. “I view this as an area in which we’re going to confront increasing threats in the future and think we have to be better prepared to deal with the growing cyber challenges that will face the nation.”

Reliable access to cyberspace is critical to U.S. national security, public safety and economic well-being. Cyber threats continue to grow in scope and severity on a daily basis. More than 60,000 new malicious software programs or variations are identified every day threatening our security, our economy and our citizens.

“The cyber threats we face are urgent, sometimes uncertain and potentially devastating as adversaries constantly search for vulnerabilities,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III. “Our infrastructure, logistics network and business systems are heavily computerized. With 15,000 networks and more than seven million computing devices, DoD continues to be a target in cyberspace for malicious activity.”