The Obama administration is nearing the completion of a plan that would give the U.S. Cyber Command the same amount of authority as the military's combat branches, according to a Reuters report published Friday evening.

The Pentagon's Cyber Command would place greater emphasis on creating cyberweapons to prevent attacks, punishing hackers who penetrate U.S. networks and fighting the Islamic State.

As a "unified command," it would be separated from the National Security Agency to give it more of a role in offensive and defensive cybertools rather than eavesdropping on phone calls.

Cyber Command was created in 2010 and is subordinate to the U.S. Strategic Command. The intended strategy is to put the command on the offensive, increasing the rate and strength at which it has been dropping digital bombs on the Islamic State, actions the Pentagon confirmed earlier this year.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter hinted at the boost for Cyber Command in April, when he said the Pentagon would spend $35 billion on cybertools over the next five years, a significant bump for the program.

It is not known when President Obama will be presented with a final plan to approve.