The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act has been signed into law by President Donald Trump, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
The $901 billion Pentagon policy bill includes a range of cybersecurity provisions and authorizes unprecedented spending levels for national security programs. It contains language that preserves the dual-hat leadership structure of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency by preventing the use of Pentagon funds to "reduce or diminish the responsibilities, authorities, or organizational oversight of the Commander of United States Cyber Command," an arrangement that has been debated since the command was established in 2010.
The bill also allocates funding for Cyber Command across several areas, including $314 million for operations and maintenance at its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, alongside roughly $73 million dedicated to digital operations and an additional $30 million for other activities.
It further requires the defense secretary to ensure senior Defense Department leaders receive mobile phones with "enhanced cybersecurity protections" such as data encryption, following recent inspector general findings highlighting shortcomings in secure communications and the handling of sensitive information.
The measure also orders the department to harmonize its cybersecurity requirements by next June, a move expected to support the national cybersecurity strategy the Trump administration plans to release next month.
The $901 billion Pentagon policy bill includes a range of cybersecurity provisions and authorizes unprecedented spending levels for national security programs. It contains language that preserves the dual-hat leadership structure of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency by preventing the use of Pentagon funds to "reduce or diminish the responsibilities, authorities, or organizational oversight of the Commander of United States Cyber Command," an arrangement that has been debated since the command was established in 2010.
The bill also allocates funding for Cyber Command across several areas, including $314 million for operations and maintenance at its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, alongside roughly $73 million dedicated to digital operations and an additional $30 million for other activities.
It further requires the defense secretary to ensure senior Defense Department leaders receive mobile phones with "enhanced cybersecurity protections" such as data encryption, following recent inspector general findings highlighting shortcomings in secure communications and the handling of sensitive information.
The measure also orders the department to harmonize its cybersecurity requirements by next June, a move expected to support the national cybersecurity strategy the Trump administration plans to release next month.
