Hegseth orders Cyber Command and military intelligence to defend the midterm elections
The memo calls election security a "no-fail mission" but names no adversaries, budget or deadlines, as civilian election support has been cut back.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed US Cyber Command and military intelligence agencies to prioritise countering foreign threats to the upcoming elections, Nextgov/FCW reported. The memorandum, dated 22 September and published on 28 September, orders intelligence collection and coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
"I am therefore directing the entire [Defense Intelligence Enterprise] to mobilize every authorized asset, capability, and partnership under your command to defend our election infrastructure from foreign malign influence," Hegseth wrote.
The memo is addressed to the heads of Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Cyber Command is told to use its existing authorities to counter foreign cyberattacks on the elections. The document calls election protection a "no-fail mission" but does not identify adversaries or operations, add staff or money, or set deadlines.
Against a background of cuts
The order comes as dedicated federal work on foreign influence has been scaled back. The administration has dismantled the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, reorganised intelligence coordination on influence operations and reduced election security support at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has assigned two officials to coordinate election threat intelligence.
The NSA and Cyber Command have worked together before through a joint Election Security Group, which the NSA described after the 2022 midterms. Military capabilities can disrupt foreign hackers abroad. They cannot replace the civilian help that county election offices relied on for vulnerability scans, incident response and advice, which is where many election officials say the gap now lies.
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