FOUR former NSA chiefs—Tim Haugh, Paul Nakasone, Mike Rogers and Keith Alexander—gathered at RSAC 2026 to discuss the role and limits of offensive cyber in government strategy. The panel, reported by Alexander Culafi for Dark Reading, noted that the Obama era reserved the right to respond militarily to cyber incidents, a point still debated as offensive capabilities become more public.
Nakasone bluntly said that whatever the president determines as the red line will be the final word, while Rogers urged the establishment of criteria for when a kinetic response might be appropriate, such as when a cyberattack directly causes loss of life. Alexander emphasised the need to give the president and the National Security Council flexibility rather than codifying rigid rules into law. The discussion also touched on Stuxnet, with attribution to the US and Israel cited as part of the broader debate about state-led cyber operations.