General Paul Nakasone, the head of the US Cyber command and the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) has confirmed for the first time that US military hackers have carried out offensive cyber operations against Russia in support of Ukraine.
He didn’t provide any information regarding the nature of these cyber operations, but said the activities were lawful and done with civilian oversight.
Speaking in Tallinn, Estonia, Nakasone said that he is concerned “every single day” about the risk of a Russian cyberattack targeting the US and said that the hunt forward activities were an effective way of protecting both the country and its allies.
“We've conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,” official told the Sky News.
“My job is to provide a series of options to the secretary of defence and the president, and so that's what I do,” he said, without detailing what those options would be.
In May, the US, UK, the European Union, and allies formally accused Russia for a massive cyberattack that disrupted Viasat's KA-SAT satellite internet service an hour before Ukraine invasion.
Cybersecurity Help statement on the critical situation in Ukraine
On February 24, people in many cities and towns across Ukraine woke up to the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the country. Such actions are unacceptable, political ambitions of any man aren’t worth of blood, tears, and destruction of millions of lives. We give our full support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times. No more war! Слава Україні!