CONCLUSION The arrival of the cyber era has created new opportunities and challenges for the Department and the Nation. Open and reliable access to information is a vital U.S. interest, and our allies and competitors alike should understand that we will assertively defend it. The 2018 DoD Cyber Strategy directs the Department to defend forward, shape the day-to-day competition, and prepare for war by building a more lethal force, expanding alliances and partnerships, reforming the Department, and cultivating talent, while actively competing against and deterring our competitors. Taken together, these mutually reinforcing activities will enable the Department to compete, deter, and win in the cyberspace domain. 7 DOD CYBER STRATEGY