It appears that they may be trying raise the profile of "hackers" to pave the way for public support of new "cyber terrorism" policies:
"States have an inherent right to self-defense that may be
triggered by certain aggressive acts in cyberspace,” says
the policy. Indeed, such aggressive acts might compel a
country like the US to act even when the hacking is
targeted at an allied country.
"Certain hostile acts conducted through cyberspace could
compel actions under the commitments we have with our
military treaty partners,” says the document. “When
warranted, the United States will respond to hostile acts
in cyberspace as we would any other threat to our
country."