WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, rolling back some efforts to contend with a key adversary even as national security experts call for the U.S. to expand those capabilities.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, on Monday confirmed the pause.
Hegseth鈥檚 decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But the Trump administration also has rolled back other efforts at the FBI and other agencies related to countering .
The Pentagon decision, which was first reported by The Record, comes as many national security and cybersecurity experts have urged greater investments in cyber defense and offense, particularly as and have to interfere with the nation's economy, elections and
Republican lawmakers and national security experts have all called for a greater offensive posture. During his this year, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said America鈥檚 rivals have shown that they believe cyberespionage 鈥 retrieving sensitive information and disrupting American business and infrastructure 鈥 to be an essential weapon of the modern arsenal.
鈥淚 want us to have all of the tools necessary to go on offense against our adversaries in the cyber community,鈥 Ratcliffe said.
Cyber Command oversees and coordinates the Pentagon鈥檚 cybersecurity work and is known as America鈥檚 first line of defense in cyberspace. It also plans offensive cyberoperations for potential use against adversaries.
Hegseth鈥檚 directive arrived before Friday鈥檚 between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. It wasn鈥檛 clear if the pause was tied to any negotiating tactic by the Trump administration to push into a peace deal with Ukraine.
Trump has that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, and on Monday he for suggesting the end to the conflict was 鈥渇ar away.鈥
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Hegseth's order.
Cyber warfare is cheaper than traditional military force, can be carried out covertly and doesn鈥檛 carry the same risk of escalation or retaliation, making it an increasingly popular tool for nations that want to contend with the U.S. but lack the traditional economic or military might, according to Snehal Antani, CEO of Horizon3.ai, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity firm founded by former national security officers.
Cyberespionage can allow adversaries to steal competitive secrets from American companies, obtain sensitive intelligence or that manage dams, water plants, traffic systems, private companies, governments and hospitals.
The internet has created new battlefields, too, as nations like Russia and China use and propaganda to undermine their opponents.
Artificial intelligence now makes it easier and cheaper than ever for anyone 鈥 be it a foreign nation like Russia, China or North Korea or 鈥 to step up their cybergame at scale, Antani said. Fixing code, translating disinformation or identifying network vulnerabilities once required a human 鈥 now AI can do much of it faster.
鈥淲e are entering this era of cyber-enabled economic warfare that is at the nation-state level,鈥 Antani said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in this really challenging era where offense is significantly better than defense, and it鈥檚 going to take a while for defense to catch up.鈥
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi also has focused on foreign influence campaigns, like those Russia used to target U.S. elections in the past. And more than a dozen people who at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were put on leave.
These actions are leaving the U.S. vulnerable despite years of evidence that Russia is committed to continuing and expanding its cyber efforts, according to Liana Keesing, campaigns manager for technology reform at Issue One, a nonprofit that has studied technology鈥檚 impact on democracy.
鈥淚nstead of confronting this threat, the Trump administration has actively taken steps to make it easier for the Kremlin to interfere in our electoral processes,鈥 Keesing said.
