Russia Beats US in Cyber Policy Decision-Making - Ex-Head of Defense Intel

Russia’s ability to efficiently make political decisions in the government’s cyber policies gives it the upper-hand over the United States, former Defense Intelligence Agency director Michael Flynn said at a cybersecurity forum on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — He explained that while he does not think Russia matches US capabilities in the cyber domain, "their decision-making process is incredibly fast."

Flynn, as well as acting US Department of Defense officials, have stated repeatedly that the United States is "losing" within the cyber battlespace.

"They [Russians] are able to make decisions much faster than us and in a world that requires speed, we need to be able to do the same thing," Flynn said of Russia’s defense cyber capabilities.

The US government is still working through policies to establish clear rules of engagement in offensive and defensive cyber operations across multiple agencies, including the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.