1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

Recent reports indicate Defense Secretary Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to halt all planning against Russia. This concerning directive comes despite the well-documented cyberthreats posed by Russian state-backed hackers. Just last year, Russian actors compromised SolarWinds' systems and distributed malware to thousands of organizations. Numerous other major cyberattacks have also been attributed to Russia. Halting our cyber defenses and planning seems dangerously misguided given Russia's persistent cyber aggression. We urge you to press for this directive to be immediately reversed. Our national security requires maintaining a strong cyber deterrent and preparedness against the Russian threat. Failing to do so leaves us vulnerable to crippling cyber strikes on our critical infrastructure, intelligence assets, and private sector at a moment's notice.