Pentagon denies halting cyber operations against Russia, Bloomberg reports
The Pentagon has denied that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a halt to cyber operations against Russia, Bloomberg reported on March 4, citing an unnamed senior defense official.
The Record previously reported that U.S. Cyber Command was ordered to suspend offensive cyber and information operations against Moscow. The news coincided with President Donald Trump's efforts 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 engaged 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.
But according to a source quoted by Bloomberg, Hegseth did not cancel or suspend cyber operations against Russia. Nor has he issued any orders to reverse this priority, the source said.
The U.S. Cyber Command oversees 135 teams of "cyber mission forces."
The units involved in offensive operations are cyber combat mission teams, according to Bloomberg.
Olena Goncharova
