US Cyber Command Honcho Boasts US Is Conducting Offensive Hacking Operations Against Russia to Help Ukraine – Opinion

While American soldiers aren’t directly fighting with Russian troops in Ukraine or their proxies, however, the US military provides offensive and defense cyber support in order to stop the Russian invasion. General Paul Nakasone is the commander of US Cyber Command.

In an exclusive interview, General Paul Nakasone also explained how separate “hunt forward” operations were allowing the United States to search out foreign hackers and identify their tools before they were used against America.

Speaking in Tallinn, Estonia, the general, who is also director of the National Security Agency (NSA), told Sky News that he is concerned “every single day” about the risk of a Russian cyber attack targeting the US and said that the hunt forward activities were an effective way of protecting both America as well as allies.

General Nakasone confirmed for the first time that the US was conducting offensive hacking operations in support of Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion.

He told Sky News: “We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations.”

To be clear, I really don’t care what US Cyber Command is up to regarding Russia. It is possible that some of our people are the ones behind mysterious explosions and fires in Russia. (see BREAKING). Mysterious Fire Rips Through Secret Russian Bureau Responsible for Designing Missiles, Bad Luck Strikes Russia as Three Major Fires in Two Days Damage Defense and Private Industry, and Unexplained Fires Engulf Russian Tank Farms; Oil Pipeline to Germany May Be at Risk), I’d be happy to buy them a beer. They would if they knew. Which I shouldn’t.

From the earliest days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our Intelligence Community has sought to interject itself into that war as a major player in its own right and engage in self-puffery. As we were waiting to see if an invasion of Ukraine would happen or if Russian President Vladimir Putin was playing the role of the “Grand old Duke of York,” the Intelligence Community repeatedly announced the Russian invasion to be imminent. These announcements were supposed to keep Putin in check, as he knew that we were watching his decisions-making. The reality is much simpler. Rather than keeping Putin off-balance, I think the intelligence community set up a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition where if Putin didn’t invade, they could claim the credit. They could also claim that they accurately predicted his invasion if he did.

The intelligence community has been involved in war on numerous occasions since the beginning, but with little more than reading the headlines. It claimed credit for helping Ukraine shoot down two Russian transport planes, something, by the way, that didn’t happen except on Twitter (Did the Intelligence Community Just Take Credit for an Event That Never Happened?). It claimed credit for providing the intelligence necessary to make the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva sink. See Russian Frigate on Fire: The Intelligence Community Attempts to Convince us They Do Know. When Russian generals started meeting untimely ends, the IC was back in action, claiming responsibility, see Intelligence Community Claims Responsibility for Killing Russian Generals Because It Didn’t Happen Unless You Know They Did It.

Cyber Command wants a piece, at least that’s what it seems.

I don’t know who thought Nakasone telling the world via a British news outlet while in a nation bordering Russia that we are engaged in cyber-warfare against Russia was a good idea. It’s not. This is a foolish idea. It is a lot better for everyone, even if we actually are engaged in offensive cyber operations targeted at Russia, if we don’t advertise the fact. It’s much more effective if there is plausible denial and that the Russians have to at least acknowledge they may be facing cyberattacks from Ukraine.