US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive to the US Cyber Command to halt planning for actions against Russia, including cyberattacks, CBS News reported on Sunday, citing government sources.
It is unclear how long the order will remain in effect, and the reasons behind it have not been disclosed. The change comes in the context of President Trump's efforts to end Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.
The directive was first reported by The Record, a news publication devoted to cybersecurity. It has generated a lot of commentary in the US media.
According to CBS News, a senior U.S. defense official said, “Due to operational security concerns, we do not comment on or discuss cyber intelligence, cyber intelligence plans or operations. There is no higher priority for Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the warfighter in all operations, including in the cyber space.”
Asked Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Republican congressman Mike Turner, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee and was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he had no idea what he was talking about.
When pressed by the host, he added: “Given what I know about Russia’s actions against the U.S., I am certain that the current state of U.S. operations does not fit that characterization.”
New guidelines for 🇺🇸 (a significant portion of US government hackers): skip operations against Russia. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/JZ740eveJO
— Niebezpiecznik (@niebezpiecznik) March 1, 2025
In turn, on CNN's “State of the Union,” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz admitted that he was also unaware of the directive.
Asked if there had been any talk of halting offensive cyber operations against Russia, Waltz said:
“That was not part of our discussions. There will be all kinds of carrots and sticks to end this war.”
NBC News quotes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as saying Sunday that the administration's decision to halt offensive cyber operations against Russia was an attempt by Trump to curry favor with Putin.
“ Donald Trump is so desperate to curry favor with a thug like Vladimir Putin that he appears to be giving him carte blanche while Russia continues its cyber operations and attacks on critical American infrastructure, threatening our economic and national security. … It is a critical strategic mistake for Donald Trump to unilaterally disarm Putin,” Schumer argued.
From New York Andrzej Dobrowolski (PAP)
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