Pentagon Denies Halting Cyber Operations Against Russia
The Pentagon has denied that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a halt to cyber operations against Russia. This was reported by Bloomberg on March 4, but the information was later disputed.
According to an unnamed senior defense official, there was no order from Hegseth to stop cyber and information operations against Moscow. The denial comes amid efforts by President Donald Trump to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine under terms that critics argue favor Moscow.
Cybersecurity experts had warned that such a move would benefit one of America’s most persistent cyber adversaries, potentially weakening U.S. leverage in both cyber and conventional military operations.
Russian hacker groups have been involved in various forms of cyber warfare throughout the full-scale war, including cyberattacks against Ukraine, hacks of civilian infrastructure in Europe, and interference in foreign elections.
The U.S. Cyber Command oversees 135 teams of “cyber mission forces,” which includes units involved in offensive operations known as cyber combat mission teams.