Policy
Top NSC official wants to normalize offensive hacking as tool of US might
Alexei Bulazel's remarks are the clearest indication yet that the United States is working out ways to hack back against foreign enemies and rivals.
David DiMolfetta | May 2, 2025 12:00 PM ET
Cyber White House
SAN FRANCISCO — In his first major discussion as the top cybersecurity official in the National Security Council, Alexei Bulazel said he wants to normalize the use of offensive cyber activity as a tool of U.S. national power.
At the RSAC Conference here, Bulazel — a former NSC cyber policy director in President Donald Trump’s first term — told an audience of cybersecurity practitioners that the U.S. “could respond in-kind” to cyberattacks from China and other adversaries that have targeted various critical infrastructure systems across the nation.
He said the U.S. could “punch back” and argued that earlier administrations had been more hesitant to do this.
“I’d also add that not responding is escalatory in its own right,” Bulazel said, contending that letting adversaries “walk all over you” incentivizes them to continue their activities. “You need to find some way to communicate this is not acceptable.”
The remarks, delivered just over 100 days into Trump’s second term, are the clearest indication yet from the upper echelons of the White House that the U.S. is working out ways to hack back against foreign enemies and rivals. The dynamic has been in discussions for months, as Trump allies and others said the U.S. needed to respond to hacks carried out by Chinese government-aligned espionage groups that have accessed American telecom networks and other critical infrastructure.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/05/top-nsc-official-wants-normalize-offensive-hacking-tool-us-might/405023/?oref=d1-homepage-river
