The head of the US cyber command told Sky News that US hackers had launched offensive operations to support Ukraine In an exclusive interview, General Paul Nakasone also introduced how the single hunt forward operation enabled the United States to search for foreign hackers' tools before they were used against the United States.
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The general, who is also the director of the US Security Agency (NSA), told Sky News in Tallinn, Estonia, that he was concerned about the risk of Russian cyber attacks against the United States "every day", and said hunt forward was an effective way to protect the United States and its allies.
General Nakasone confirmed for the first time that the United States is conducting offensive hacking operations to support Ukraine's military action against Russia.
"We have conducted a series of all-round operations; offensive, defensive, (and) information operations," he said
The four-star general did not elaborate on these activities, but explained how they were legal and how they were carried out under the full supervision of the military by civilian personnel and through policies determined by the Ministry of defense.
"My job is to provide the Secretary of defense and the president with a range of options, so that's what I do," said Nakasone, who declined to describe the options.
However, he pointed out that, compared with Russia, which started its information operations with lies, the purpose of the United States is to tell the truth strategically.
In addition, general Nakasone disagreed with the comments that the network aspects of the Russian attack on Ukraine were exaggerated, and praised the resilience of the Kiev government and defenders. "If you ask Ukrainians, they won't say it's exaggerated. If you look at the destructive and divisive attacks they have encountered -- you wrote about the attack on viasat -- it's always going on."
The general continued, "and we have seen this, the attacks on their satellite systems, the ongoing wiper attacks, and the destructive attacks on their government procedures. This is a part that I think is sometimes overlooked by the public. They are not very busy, they are very busy. And I think, you know, their resilience may be the story that appeals to all of us."
Asked how high the risk of a Russian attack on the United States was, general Nakasone said: "we are vigilant every day. Every day. I have been thinking about this."
In addition, he added: "that is why we are working with a range of partners to ensure that we prevent this situation, not only against the United States but also against our allies."
Hunt forward, an activity developed under the leadership of general Nakasone, is a key aspect of the US cyber command partnership.
General Nakasone said that network command experts have been deployed to 16 countries abroad. They can seek intelligence from the computer networks of allies - usually on the basis of consensus and invitation. The cyber command will share the intelligence they find with the host country, which is crucial to hunt forward's operation.
It is reported that in one such hunt forward deployment, US military experts appeared in Ukraine very close to the date of invasion.
"We went there in december2021 at the invitation of the Kiev government to hunt with them. We stayed there for nearly 90 days," the general said.
A spokesman confirmed that the team, together with other personnel of the Ministry of defense, withdrew before Russia took military action against Ukraine in February.