Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said he has formed a special task force that would evaluate threats of Russian attacks in cyberspace, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Nakasone, a two-time Wash100 recipient, confirmed the formation of “a Russia Small Group†late Saturday, the tail-end yearly Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “I stood up a Russia group, a Russia Small Group. It’s in line with what the intelligence community has really been doing since post 2016, 2017.â€
Nakasone earlier announced that the NSA and the Cyber Command will coordinate efforts to inhibit Russian threats to the transparency and security of the November midterm elections. Having helped design and then commission the Cyber Command in 2010, Nakasone said action should be taken in light of activities that are being undertaken by political adversaries.
“They steal intellectual property, [personally identifiable information] or information on personnel, they cause discord within our social ranks or attempt to undermine our elections, all below the level of war.
And so this idea of how do you engage that force is something that I believe needs to be on a continual basis,†Nakasone said.