Hegseth directs cyber forces to use 'every authorized asset' to defend midterm elections from foreign interference
Hegseth’s routine memo comes amid cuts to election security agencies.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed U.S. Cyber Command and other intelligence personnel to mobilize “every authorized asset” to defend the November midterm elections from foreign interference, according to a memo dated Sept. 22 and released to the public Monday.
Hegseth's directive is routine practice -- the Pentagon and intel agencies have defended U.S. elections from foreign interference for years. The effort expanded significantly after election systems were designated as "critical infrastructure” in 2017, which opened up more federal resources and money to curtail tampering in state and local elections.
Since 2018, state and local governments and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, have worked together on cyber and physical security of polling locations.
However, Hegseth’s customary memo comes at a time of upheaval for those working to protect elections. President Donald Trump has crafted an unsubstantiated narrative of abundant voter fraud ahead of the midterms. Meanwhile, the the president halted millions of dollars in annual funding to CISA and cut some 1,000 employees.
CISA has also gone the entirety of Trump’s second term without a Senate-confirmed director and has instead rotated through a series of acting leaders.
Providing no-cost physical and cyber election security training for state and local governments, CISA includes services like insider threat mitigation and active shooter preparedness training.
The release of Hegseth's memo follows Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin's release last week of DHS's election infrastructure security plan.
“Election security is national security,” said Mullin. “Under the leadership of President Trump, CISA has returned to its core mission to protect critical infrastructure. This plan, which will be implemented in full, is crucial to the security, freeness, and fairness of choosing the leaders of our country. Making America safe again isn’t just done at the border, in our streets, and on the coast— -- it’s also done in protecting the integrity of American elections.”
In his memo to the force, Hegseth added that the Defense Department will "effectively wield its capabilities to protect and uphold the reliability of America's voting mechanisms against external manipulation and disruption from foreign actors."
National Guard units also often support state election officials and state-level IT teams, typically at governors' direction. U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, meanwhile, focus largely on identifying and blunting overseas threats such as cyberattacks.
“Assuring and protecting this ability is a no-fail mission and the DoW will do its part in supporting this whole of government effort,” Hegseth said.
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