Hegseth directs US cyber forces against foreign interference before midterms
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth directed military intelligence and cyber units to identify and counter foreign interference before November’s midterm elections. A September 22 memo assigns work to US Cyber Command and defence intelligence teams, with coordination across government. The assignment raises questions about the boundary between routine foreign-threat defence and election administration, which remains with states. The directive does not order military personnel to polling places.
Geopolitics··Evening
Cyber units receive election tasking
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth tasked military intelligence and cyber units with countering foreign interference before November's midterm elections. The September 22 directive became public on September 28. It calls on US Cyber Command and defence intelligence agencies to collect information on foreign threats and coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security. The National Security Agency is part of that structure. The directive does not identify a particular foreign country, a documented attack or a new operation. Its public release gives existing institutions an explicit election priority.[1], [2]
Intelligence and civilian agencies to coordinate
The directive calls on defence intelligence teams to produce information on foreign election threats and on Cyber Command to act within its existing cyber authorities. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, is the civilian body that supports state and local election officials. It also published a plan last week for threat sharing and regional advice. Military units monitored foreign cyber threats in earlier elections, so Hegseth's announcement does not mean the role is entirely new. No new staffing or funding figure was announced.[1], [2]
States retain election administration
US states administer voting and vote counting. Some election experts and civil-rights groups want clarity that federal military capabilities will not be brought into polling or counting; that concern is not evidence that such intervention has happened. The announced defence mission concerns foreign cyber threats. Early voting has begun in some states ahead of the November elections. Earlier reductions in civilian election-security capacity have sharpened debate over the military agencies' assignment. The directive does not order troops to polling places.[1]
