Hegseth halts cyber operations against Russia: Reports

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has halted offensive cyber operations against Russia, according to media reports.

The Pentagon chief ordered U.S. Cyber Command to pause offensive operations last week, CNN and NBC reported. The move comes amid what appears to be a broader shift in U.S.-Russia relations under the Trump administration.

A senior defense official declined to comment on “cyber intelligence, plans, or operations,” citing “operational security concerns.”

“There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations to include the cyber domain,” the official added.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a civilian cyber defense agency that is separate from Cyber Command, emphasized Sunday that there “has been no change in our posture.”

“CISA’s mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia,” the agency wrote on X. “There has been no change in our posture. Any reporting to the contrary is fake and undermines our national security.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed the Trump administration on Sunday, calling the move a “critical strategic mistake.”

“Donald Trump is so desperate to earn the affection of a thug like Vladimir Putin he appears to be giving him a free pass as Russia continues to launch cyber operations and ransomware attacks against critical American infrastructure, threatening our economic and national security,” Schumer said in a statement.

Hegseth's decision has also raised eyebrows among lawmakers in Trump’s own party.

“I don’t know why he’s doing that,” Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) said on Fox Business. “But the Russians are attacking us every single day. The Chinese are attacking us every single day. I don’t think you signal to the Russians that ‘Hey, we’re gonna unilaterally withdraw from this space.’”

“If they can keep attacking us — and they do every single day — they should be fearful of our capacity to inflict damage on them,” he continued. “So I really don’t understand where that’s coming from.”

Topics

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