Offensive Cyber

Offensive Cyber

Hacking. It’s been the dark side of the Web almost since the dawn of the Internet.

Trojans, viruses, worms, man-in-the-middle, man-on-the-side and driveby attacks, DNS hijacking, Zero Day exploits, rootkit infections that hide malicious files from detection in critical infrastructure attacks, mobile hacking via vulnerable SS7 and Diameter protocols -- the number and variety of such tools, and the infinitely more sophisticated attacks conducted by hostile nation states, are limited only by the users’ imagination.

Today the challenge of offensive cyber to government and industry has reached a critical level. Offensive Cyber is acknowledged as a form of warfare, but there is no Geneva Convention setting limits on those who engage in it. All too often, after-the-fact response comes too late to mitigate the impact of an attack – establishing a precedent that encourages hostile forces to elevate the scope of the next assault.

The days of merely responding to malicious behavior are past. Under our nation’s 2018 Defend Forward doctrine, the U.S. Department of Defense holds authority to “halt malicious cyber activity at its source, including activity that falls below the level of armed conflict.” Our government may now take action outside of U.S. cyberspace to conduct operations that halt offensive cyber activities and its actors before they strike.

ManTech is the leader in deep research of offensive cyber that helps our nation carry out Defend Forward. We support our customers’ Cyber Network Operations (CNO) activities, providing detailed understanding of adversary organizations, capabilities and infrastructure and even attribution of the offender – empowering our nation to strike first.

Read more about ManTech's Cyber Network Operations (CNO) work.