US said to halt offensive cyber operations against Russia 

Reports suggest that the United States has decided to suspend its offensive cyber operations against Russia as part of efforts by the Trump administration to potentially offer concessions to Moscow to help end the conflict in Ukraine.

The directive to cease U.S.-launched hacking activities against Russia reportedly came from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, impacting operations conducted by U.S. Cyber Command, a branch of the Department of Defense specializing in cyber operations. However, this order does not cover espionage activities carried out by the National Security Agency.

This reported decision has been corroborated by sources such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The instruction was issued prior to a meeting in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the aim of encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in discussions regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

While U.S. Cyber Command and the Pentagon have refrained from commenting, a senior defense official indicated that they do not discuss specific cyber intelligence operations.

In addition, reports suggest that the Trump administration no longer considers Russian hackers a significant cybersecurity threat and has directed the U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA to stop reporting on Russian threats. However, the Department of Homeland Security, overseeing CISA, has denied these claims.

Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin clarified that any memo regarding changes in policy towards Russian cyber threats did not originate from the Trump administration, emphasizing that CISA remains dedicated to addressing all cyber threats to U.S. critical infrastructure.

This reported shift in U.S. policy towards Russia follows recent warnings from the U.S. intelligence community about the ongoing cyber threats posed by Russia, particularly by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) targeting government agencies and critical infrastructure.

In recent years, the U.S. government has also taken action against various Russian cybercriminals, disrupting ransomware groups’ infrastructure, recovering ransom payments, and pursuing indictments and sanctions against notorious Russian hackers.