Hegseth Memo Orders Cyber Command and Defense Intelligence Enterprise to Counter Foreign Threats to the Midterms

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum dated Sept. 22 telling the Pentagon to “mobilize every authorized asset, capability, and partnership under your command” in defense of the midterm elections. It went to the commander of U.S. Cyber Command and the directors of the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the Department released it publicly on a Monday. As Nextgov reads it, the Cyber Command directive concerns potential cyberattacks by foreign actors targeting the elections. The memo does not identify particular adversaries or operations, specify additional staffing or funding, or set implementation deadlines.

The directive arrives after the administration dismantled the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, reorganized the intelligence community’s coordination of that work and reduced election security support at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.