US military spies: We’ll capture enemy malware, tweak it, lob it right back

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The US Defense Intelligence Agency has vowed to capture enemy malware, study and customize it, and then turn the software nasties on their creators.

Speaking at the US Department of Defense Intelligence Information Systems (DoDIIS) conference in Missouri on Monday, the head of the agency Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart told attendees that the US was tired of just taking hits from outside players, can so it was planning to strike back.

“Once we’ve isolated malware, I want to reengineer it and prep to use it against the same adversary who sought to use against us,” he said. “We must disrupt to exist.”

Speaking in front of a cheesy animated world map of simulated cyber-attacks, built by defunct security biz Norse, Stewart said that the traditional stance of the US has been defensive: intrusions would be detected, and infections would be cleaned up. But this would change, he said.