Halting operations amid likely destabilising actions is described as not "uncommon."
The U.S. Cyber Command has been ordered to pause offensive cybersecurity planning and operations against Russia as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to relax tensions between both nations.
According to CNN, this is move is noted to potentially take a toll on the U.S.'s defenses against Russian threat actors who have previously targeted the country's critical infrastructure and intelligence
Despite the reported suspension of the Cyber Command's anti-Russia cyber offensive, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency expressed its commitment to continue defending U.S. critical infrastructure against all cybersecurity threats. "Any reporting to the contrary is fake and undermines our national security," noted CISA.
While halting operations amid likely destabilising actions is not "uncommon," suspending planning activities could remove the viability of offensive cybersecurity actions, said former Cyber Command official Jason Kikta of the development, which was initially reported by The Record.
"Any extended period without checking on access and updating planning, risks losing that access or missing a critical change," Kikta added.
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Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
