by The United States has suspended the operations and planning of offensive cyber operations against Russia, said a high -ranking US official CNN.
The suspension is “a big blow,” said the official, especially since the implementation of the implementation of such operations needs time and research. The official said that the break via offensive cyber operations against Russia will make the United States more susceptible to potential cyber attacks from Moscow who have an impressive squad of hackers who are able to disrupt critical infrastructure and collect sensitive intelligence.
The break in operations and planning of the US cyber command, the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit, takes place because the Trump government has applied for a broader relaxation three years after the war against Ukraine.
In the meantime, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance insisted on the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in the Oval Office and rejected the relationship between the U.S. Ukraine in uncertainty.
“Due to the concerns about operational security concerns, we do not comment on cyber intelligence, plans or operations. The secretary Hegseth has no greater priority than the security of the thrust in all operations to record the cyber domain, ”said a high-ranking defense officer to CNN, who referred to Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.
The recording reported for the first time about the suspension of the planning of cyber command in connection with Russia.
“It is not unusual for the Pentagon actions that have potentially destabilize or are provocative for negotiations, including cyber effect operations,” Jason Kikta, a former civil servant of the cyber command, told CNN. “But even if a planning break was directed, this could lead to offensive options outdated and therefore not viable.”
“Any long time without checking the access and update planning, the loss of this access or the lack of a critical change,” said Kikta, adding that he was not personally aware of a change in the status of the cyber command processes.
Russia and the United States are in a regular confrontation in cyberspace, the current and former US official. The Kremlin sees the cyberspace as a source of asymmetrical advantages in the USA because it can flow into the US -critical infrastructure and try to influence the US elections.
American military and intelligence chopper have increasingly disappeared into Russian cybercriminals and secret service employees in recent years.
Since 2016, when Russia used bots, trolls and hackers to influence the election in favor of Trump, Moscow has repeated this game book in every US presidential election.
The cyber command was founded more than a decade ago in order to react to threats from Russia and other foreign powers. The command has matured considerably since its foundation and grew to a multi -thousand -strong power of computer drivers that carry out insulting and defensive missions.
From its base in Fort Meade, Maryland, in addition to the National Security Agency, Cyber Command has also become increasingly a tool for the US power projection. Command has sent specialists to allies around the world to try to help them defend themselves against threats of cybercriminals and spies.
This includes a trip to Ukraine in December 2021 in anticipation of the full invasion of Russia to help Kyiv prepare for a rush for Russian cyber attacks.
Months after Russia’s completeness of the invasion, the cyber command confirmed that it acted actively to defend Ukraine by cyber attacks.
Despite the change in planning at Cyber Command, another large agency of federal cyber security stated that it was not to change their attitude.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Senior Civil Agency for Defense Before Hacks, said on Sunday evening on X that his mission was to defend “against all cyber threats for the US critical infrastructure, including from Russia”.
“There was no change in our attitude,” said the agency in an obvious reaction to media reports that the agency emphasized the threats to non-Russia. “Every contrary reporting is fake and undermines our national security.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
More CNN messages and newsletter create an account at CNN.com
