Presidential Policy Directive 20

Citation
Executive Office of the President, Presidential Policy Directive 20 (Oct. 2012) (classified; not available online).

Overview
According to news reports, this secret Directive enables the military to act more aggressively to thwart cyberattacks on the nation's government and private computer networks. It establishes a broad and strict set of standards to guide the operations of federal agencies in confronting threats in cyberspace.

The Directive explicitly makes a distinction between network defense and cyber-operations to guide officials charged with making often-rapid decisions when confronted with threats. The policy also lays out a process to vet any operations outside government and defense networks and ensure that U.S. citizens' and foreign allies' data and privacy are protected and international laws of war are followed.

Source

 * "Obama Signs Secret Directive to Help Thwart Cyberattacks," Wash. Post (Nov. 14, 2012) (full-text).