Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to refrain from all planning against Russia, which includes cyber offensive actions, The Record first reported.
According to three sources familiar with the matter and speaking on condition of anonymity, Hegseth gave the order to Gen. Timothy Haugh, Cyber Command chief. Haugh, in turn, advised the department's outgoing director of operations Marine Corp Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage of the change in strategy.
Sources said the order does not apply to the National Security Agency, which Haugh also leads, nor to its signals intelligence operations targeting Russia. According to The Record, the directive may disrupt some of Cyber Command's most critical missions, including those in Ukraine.
The order from Hegseth was a given a week before President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
During the meeting, Vance confronted Zelenskyy over his campaign stop with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the critical state of Pennsylvania.
"You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country," Vance said.
Brian Krebs, an investigative reporter specializing in cyber security said the combination of Hegseth's order and Friday's Oval Office meltdown couldn't have come at a worse time.
"There is zero reason for the US to relax any offensive digital actions against Russia. If anything, we should be applying 10x more," Krebs posted on LinkedIn. "This is indefensible, but makes sense given the president's embarrassing performance at the White House today browbeating President Zelensky by continuously saying 'World War III' and again echoing Kremlin sabre rattling."
According to The Record, Hegseth's order may lessen the nation's ability to protect private sector digital infrastructure both at home and abroad as U.S. Cyber Command has played a critical role in counteracting Russia's cyber offensive strategy.
The directive follows reports from earlier this week that Hegseth has threatened military action inside of Mexico to confront the nation's drug cartels if the Trump administration's demands on border security are not met.
The Record reported that it is unknown at this time how the recent directive will affect Cyber Command personnel.
In a statement to the outlet, a senior defense official said, "Due to operational security concerns, we do not comment nor discuss cyber intelligence, plans, or operations. There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations, to include the cyber domain."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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