Trump -Administration withdraws in combat against Russian cyber threats | US National Security

The Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe that Russia represents a cyber threat to US national security or critical infrastructure that marks a radical departure from many years of intelligence assessments.

The shift in politics could make the United States vulnerable to hacking attacks from Russia, warned experts, and seemed to reflect the warming of the links between Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Two recent events show that the United States no longer characterizes Russia as a cyber security threat.

Liesyl FranzDeputy Assistant Secretary of International Cyber ​​Security at the State Department, said in a speech last week before a UN working group on cyber security that the United States was concerned about threats committed by some states, but only named China and Iran, without mentioning Russia in her comments. Franz also did not mention the Russia-based Lockbit Ransomware Group, as the US has previously said, is the most productive ransomware group in the world and has been called in UN forums in the past. Treasury Last year, Lockbit said operating on a Ransomeware-as-Service model, where the group licenses its ransomware software for criminals in exchange for some of the ransom paid.

Unlike Franz’s declaration, representatives of us allied in the European Union and the United Kingdom their remarks on the threat of Moscow, where Britain pointed out that Russia was using offensive and malicious cyber attacks against Ukraine along with his illegal invasion.

“It is incomprehensible to give a talk about threats in cyberspace and not mention Russia, and it is delusional to believe that this will make Russia and FSB (the Russian security agency) to our friends,” James Lewis, a veterancy expert, formerly the center of Strategic and International Studies Think Tank in Washington said. “They hate the United States and are still angry about losing the Cold War. To pretend otherwise won’t change this. “

The US political change has also been created behind closed doors.

A recent memo at CyberSecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) set new priorities for the Agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security and monitors cyber threats against US critical infrastructure. The new directive indicated priorities that included China and protected local systems. It did not mention Russia.

A person who is familiar with the case talking to Guardian on condition of anonymity said analysts on the agency was verbally informed that they should not follow or report on Russian threats, although this had previously been a main focus of the agency.

The person said that work performed on something “Russia-related” was actually “mixed”.

“Russia and China are ours greatest opponents. With all the cuts made to different agencies, a lot of cyber security staff have been fired. Our systems will not be protected and our opponents know this, ”the person said.

The person added: “People say Russia wins. Putin is on the inside now. “

The The New York Times has reported separately That the Trump administration has also awarded the CISA officials who were focused on protecting choices from cyber attacks and other attempts to interfere with the vote.

Another person who previously worked on US joint task forces operating at elevated classification levels to track and fight Russian cyber threats said the development was “really shocking”.

“There are thousands of us government employees and military who are working daily on the huge threat Russia poses as possibly the most significant nation -state threat actor. Not to reduce the importance of China, Iran or North Korea, but Russia is at least on par with China as the most significant cyber threat, ”the person said.

The person added: “There are dozens of discreet Russia’s state -sponsored hacker team dedicated to either producing damage to the US government, infrastructure and commercial interests or implementing information theft with a key goal of maintaining sustained access to computer systems.”

CISA did not initially respond to Guardian’s request for comment. Hours after the publication of this article, it denied that the note was “from the Trump administration”.

“CISA remains obliged to tackle all cyber threats against US critical infrastructure, including from Russia. There has been no change in our attitude or priority on this front, ”said DHS spokesman Tricia McLaughlin.

The Ministry of State did not respond to Guardian’s request for comment.

The change is not entirely surprising, given that the Trump administration has made it clear that it is seeking to do something with Moscow. Earlier this week at the United Nations, the United States voted with Russia against an EU Ukrainian decision that condemned Russia on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States has long assessed Russia, China and Iran as leaders in cyber threats. To see an American representative in an international surroundings, Russia’s role erases quite a bit of shock – though it is in line with the sudden American adaptation to Russia and its satellites on the global stage, ”said Scott Horton, a US lawyer who previously worked in Moscow and advised Russian human rights lawyers.

The United States has long warned that Russia was a cyber threat to US infrastructure including In the annual trussian evaluation Published by US intelligence agencies last year. The report stated that Russia was a “lasting global cyber threat”, even as it has prioritized cyber operations against Ukraine. Moscow concluded the report, “Cyber ​​disorders consider a foreign policy handle to shape other countries’ decisions and advice continuously, using its espionage, influence and attack functions against different goals.” Russia was able to target critical infrastructure, industrial control systems, in the US and in allies and partner countries.

Few legislators have previously been as obvious about the question as Marco Rubio when he was still a Florida senator. By 2020, as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Rubio – which now acts as Trump’s Secretary of State – Would retaliation For a massive and running cyber attack that had compromised businesses and federal agencies, including the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration. At the time, he said the attacks were “in accordance with Russian cyber operations”.

But there was no sign of that kind of rebuke from FranzThere is now reporting to Rubio in the state department. The change in language by the recent UN speech was not only remarkable for omitting Russia and Lockbit, said Valentin Weber, Senior Research Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, but also to omit any mention of allies and partners.

“For a quarter of a century, Putin’s Russia pressed an autocratic agenda in the UN cyber security negotiations while participating in direct cyber attacks and information operations around the world, and other democracies pushed back,” said William Drake, director of international studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele Information in Columbia Business School. “But now the Trump administration has left the liberal international order … (and) the United States is no longer a global power trying to maintain an open and rules-based international system, it is just a great power with narrower self-interests that happen to be influenced by China’s cyber attack.”

Do you have a tip for this story? Send us a message on signal of +1 646 886 8761