Hegseth Orders Cyber Command and NSA to Disrupt Foreign Midterm Interference

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a Sept. 22 memorandum directing U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, and other Pentagon intelligence agencies to identify, disrupt, and neutralize foreign interference in the November midterms. The one-page order was made public Monday, about five weeks before Election Day on Nov. 3, with early voting already underway. It is addressed to Cyber Command commander and NSA Director Gen. Joshua M. Rudd and to the directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The memo sets three tasks. Cyber Command and the combat-support agencies are to prioritize Department of War intelligence and cyber tools so foreign actors “do not meddle in our democratic systems.” The Defense Intelligence Enterprise is to collect and produce intelligence on foreign threats to U.S. elections “in accordance with the law, regulation, Executive direction, and DoW policies and directives.” Cyber Command is to use existing authorities with the Department of Homeland Security against cyber threats aimed at election infrastructure. A Pentagon release said the commands will “deploy advanced intelligence and cyber capabilities” against foreign interference in democratic processes.

Hegseth called protecting the vote a “no-fail mission.” “In America, the people rule—and we must ensure that their voice remains sovereign, secure, and entirely undiluted,” the memo states. He wrote that the department will “protect and uphold the reliability of America’s voting mechanisms against external manipulation and disruption from foreign actors” and directed the intelligence enterprise to mobilize authorized assets “to defend our election infrastructure from foreign malign influence and ensure that every lawful voter can cast their ballot free from foreign intimidation, coercion, or fear.” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Cyber Command and defense intelligence teams will work with federal, state, and local partners to defend voting systems and expose foreign influence “while protecting the fundamental freedoms of the American people.”

The directive does not send troops or the National Guard to polling places. It cites President Trump’s 2025 executive order on election integrity and follows a similar 2022 Biden-era order that told Cyber Command and the NSA to disrupt and degrade foreign efforts to interfere with voting and vote-counting. Election systems have been designated critical infrastructure since 2017. Cyber Command and the NSA have previously used a joint Election Security Group to share intelligence and conduct overseas disruption against Russia, Iran, and other actors. Hegseth’s memo does not say whether that same group will operate this cycle. It names no specific country, extra funding, or deadline.

Rudd said Cyber Command and the NSA “regularly counter actions by malicious foreign cyber actors including those with the intent to interfere with our democratic process.” In April he told lawmakers he did not know whether an Election Security Group had been stood up for 2026. A Pentagon official said defending against foreign cyber actors is an enduring mission. The memo lands as CISA, the civilian DHS unit created to help states secure election systems, has been reduced and has issued its own midterm assistance plan. The midterms are five weeks away.