Overview

• The H.R.1 provision directs $1 billion over four years to expand U.S. offensive cyber operations without clarifying eligible activities or software.
• Funding is earmarked to bolster U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s cyber capabilities in response to escalating digital threats in the region.
• Security experts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and lawmakers have criticized the absence of spending criteria, performance metrics and oversight mechanisms.
• Meanwhile, the administration has reduced CISA’s workforce by about one-third and cut its civilian cybersecurity budget, weakening national defensive readiness.
• Senator Ron Wyden warned that expanded hacking capacity could invite retaliatory attacks on government entities and private infrastructure, while the bill also includes $250 million for Cyber Command’s artificial intelligence efforts.