US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered his cyber spies to take their focus away from Russia, a report in The Telegraph has claimed. Gen Timothy Haugh, the Cyber Command chief, has been ordered to halt his department’s offensive operations as the new administration downplays the cyber threat from Russia.
The development comes in the backdrop of Liesyl Franz, the deputy assistant secretary for international cyber space security at the Department of State emphasising that China and Iran were the major threat to US cyber infrastructure instead of Russia.
Ms Franz also did not mention the Russia-backed LockBit ransomware group that Washington has previously dubbed as the most prolific ransomware group in the world and has been called out in UN forums in the past.
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) – which is part of the department of homeland security – also did not mention Russia in a memo,” the report stated.
Additionally, the move is being seen as a broader effort by President Donald Trump to draw his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin into talks on Ukraine and forge a new relationship with the United States.
While it is not unusual to stop operations in the middle of high-level talks or similar engagements, the move comes as President Trump shows a willingness to abandon European allies and develop common ground with the Russian president on Ukraine.
Also Read | AI Model Trained On Flawed Code Praises Adolf Hitler, Promotes Self-Harm
US-Russia getting close?
Ever since President Trump and his deputy, JD Vance engaged in a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House, experts have predicted was a signal of the Trump administration moving towards Moscow. However, as per the publication, the decision to call off cyber espionage against Russia, albeit temporarily, was taken prior to the Oval Office meeting.
On Friday (Feb 28), Russia named Alexander Darchiev as the new ambassador to the US — filling a role vacant since last year in another sign of easing tensions. The announcement came after the two sides held fresh talks in Istanbul aimed at resolving diplomatic issues after both sides expelled embassy staff from the other country under former president Joe Biden’s administration.