NEW YORK -- The Defense Department is shifting its policy stance on cyber threats, hoping that the threat of offense can work as an effective defense. In what DoD officials called the first major policy speech about cyber by a defense secretary, Leon Panetta outlined an aggressive agenda to prevent cyber attacks and repeatedly mentioned deterrence as an important mission for the department to an audience of veterans and business executives here at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Oct. 11. "Our mission is to defend the nation," he said. "We defend. We deter. And if called upon, we take decisive action to defend our citizens." Two critical weaknesses had previously limited the nation's ability to deter attackers: an inability to attribute attacks and therefore target aggressors, and a lack of tools to allow an aggressive response. In recent weeks, defense officials have been quietly discussing improvements in attribution, some even terming the problem "solved," sources said.
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