The head of the US Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone, said that the US military was carrying out “offensive hacking operations” in support of Ukraine.
Nakasone said this in an interview with Sky News, European Truth reports.
“We have carried out a number of operations of all kinds: offensive, defensive, informational,” said the commander of the US Cyber Troops.
He declined to elaborate on the details of the cyberattacks, but said they were carried out legally in accordance with Pentagon policies and under civilian surveillance.
“My job is to provide a number of options for the Minister of Defense and the President, which I do,” Nakasone added, without elaborating on those options.
According to the general, he “every day” calculates the possibility of a cyber attack by Russia on the United States, so the action to advance in cyberspace, which allows to identify Russian hackers and their intentions, is an effective means of protecting the United States and allies.
This, Nakasone added, was helped by Washington’s strategic engagement with other Western countries, which began in 2018.
“The ability to exchange information, the ability to check its accuracy and timeliness, as well as its applicability on a larger scale was very, very powerful in this crisis (Ukraine’s war with Russia),” the general said.
Earlier, the EU issued a statement condemning Russia’s cyberattack on the Viasat satellite network an hour before the invasion of Ukraine.
The United States, along with the EU, also claimed Russian involvement in cyberattacks against Ukraine shortly before February 24 and after the start of a full-scale war.