Mother at the White House after Hegseth orders Pentagon to suspend offensive cyberoperations against Russia

By Lolita C. Baldor and David Klepper Associated Press

Washington (AP) – The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, interrupted offensive Cyberoperats by Russia by US Cyber ​​Command, returning some efforts to fight a key opponent, even if national security experts ask the US to expand these capabilities.

An American official, speaking in anonymous conditions to discuss sensitive operations, confirmed the break on Monday.

Hegseth’s decision does not affect the cyberperas made by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cyber ​​Security and Security Agency. But the Trump administration has restored other efforts to the FBI and other agencies related to combating digital and cyber threats.

The decision of the Pentagon, which was reported for the first time by registration, comes as many experts in national security and cybersecurity have requested greater investments in cyber defense and crimes, especially while China and Russia sought to interfere with the nation’s economy, elections and security.

Republican parliamentarians and national security experts have requested a higher offensive position. During this year’s Senate confirmation hearing, the director of CIA, John Ratcliffe, said that rivals have shown that he believes that Cybeespionage – taking sensitive information and disturbing American business and infrastructure – as an essential weapon of modern arsenal.

“I want to have all the necessary tools to make crimes against our opponents in the cyber community,” Ratcliffe said.

Cyber ​​Command supervises and coordinates the activity of the Pentagon’s cybersecurity and is known as America’s first line in the cyber space. They also plan offensive cyberoperats for potential use against opponents.

Hegseth’s directive arrived before Friday’s Dustup between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. It was not clear whether the break was related to any negotiation tactic by the Trump administration to push Moscow in a peace agreement with Ukraine.

Trump promised to conclude the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, and Monday threw Zelenskyy because he suggested that the end of the conflict was “far”.

The White House did not immediately answer questions about Hegseth’s order.

The cyber war is cheaper than the traditional military force, it can be hidden and does not present the same risk of escalation or reprisals, which makes an increasingly popular tool for nations that want to face the US, but which do not have the traditional economic or military power, according to Snehal Antani, CEO of Horizon3. national security officers.

Cyberespioning can allow opponents to steal competitive secrets from American companies, obtain sensitive information, or disrupt supply chains or systems that manage dams, water installations, traffic systems, private companies, governments and hospitals.

The Internet has also created new battlefields, because nations such as Russia and China use misinformation and propaganda to undermine their opponents.

Artificial intelligence now makes it easier and cheaper than ever for anyone – whether it is a foreign nation such as Russia, China or North Korea or criminal networks – to intensify its cybergame on scale, said Antani. Fixing the code, translating misinformation or identification of network vulnerabilities once a man has been needed – now you can do much of it faster.

“We enter this era of the cyber -activated economic war that is at the level of the national state,” said Antani. “We are in a truly provocative era in which the crime is significantly better than defense and it will take some time for the defense to catch.”

Meanwhile, prosecutor General Pam Bondi has also abolished a FBI working group, focused on foreign influence campaigns, such as those used to target American elections in the past. And more than a dozen people who worked on the security of the election at the Cyber ​​Security and Infrastructure Agency were put on leave.

These actions leave the US vulnerable, despite the years of evidence that Russia undertakes to continue and expand its cyber efforts, according to Liana Keesing, the manager of the Technological Reformation at One, a non -profit that has studied the impact of technology on democracy.

“Instead of facing this threat, the Trump administration has actively made measures to facilitate the Kremlin to interfere in our electoral processes,” said Keesing.