I work in military cyber. I’m not involved with offensive operations, but I know the people who are and I’m pretty familiar with some of the ins and outs.
This article is obviously written by people who don’t have a clue. Consider the source and move on with your day.
Thanks for the info. I can imagine a NYT reporter being contacted by somebody who has a job in the pentagon but does not understand what cyber ops is really doing. Assuming that the reporter had such a contact, that contact should be in real legal jeopardy. Or, as you suggest, maybe the NYT just invented the whole thing.