On 5/11, Elinor Mills wrote a very interesting article for CNet on the approval process for U.S. military offensive operations in cyberspace. The Washington Post previously hinted that the new rules of engagement for offensive U.S. military cyberattacks would require presidential approval. However, according to the CNet article, there is ambiguity in the language of a recent National Defense Authorization Act that suggests the U.S. military wouldn't need presidential approval. Essentially, the previous version of the NDAA affirmed that the DoD has the capability to conduct offensive operations with presidential approval. However, the current version "affirms that the Secretary of Defense is authorized to conduct military activities in cyberspace" with no mention of presidential approval.
The House Armed Services Committee Chairman explained that the NDAA doesn't give the DoD any new authorities. Nevertheless, the CNet article voiced fears that this loose language might give too much discretion to CyberComm.
There's more to the article about how the language could apply to stealth operations in cyberspace, you can find that CNet article here.
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Interesting tidbit from FederalNewsRadio.com . . . CyberComm's director of intelligence said that CyberComm has the "capacity to significantly damage a country's infrastructure if necessary."
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