President Donald Trump has made a foolish decision to suspend certain Russia-focused activities by the U.S. military’s Cyber Command. Cyber Command is responsible for all military cyber operations in the United States. As first reported by the Record, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Command to “stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.” It is expected that this “guidance will last for the foreseeable future.”
This is the cybersecurity equivalent of chumming in waters infested with great white sharks and then jumping in that water while wearing a high-contrast bathing suit. It is not at all clever.
While Hegseth issued this directive, Trump is likely responsible for this decision. The action forms part of a broader array of recent intelligence community diktats to avoid actions that the Russians may view as provocative. Trump is issuing these directives to woo Russian President Vladimir Putin toward an agreement that ends the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, there are two major problems with this Cyber Command action and related decisions.
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