European countries are making themselves susceptible to Washington\u2019s intelligence gathering, a French general has warned
\nCountries in Europe\u00a0risk exposing themselves to US espionage by allowing Washington’s cyber defense teams monitor their networks. That’s according to General Aymeric Bonnemaison, the head of France\u2019s Cyber Defense Command, as cited by the Le Monde newspaper on Friday. The concern comes as\u00a0the US boosts its cyber forces abroad, in light of Russia\u2019s military operation in Ukraine, the newspaper reported.
\nBonnemaison reportedly\u00a0told a weekly press briefing on Thursday that the increased activities of US cyber defense teams on\u00a0European networks\u00a0\u201craise questions.\u201d\u00a0The general was said to have described American operations as\u00a0\u201crelatively aggressive\u201d\u00a0during a closed-door hearing at the National Assembly\u2019s Defense Committee last month.
\nHe added that\u00a0by allowing US cyber experts into their sensitive networks, Washington\u2019s allies were exposing themselves to possible espionage, according to Le Monde. He warned that US teams\u00a0\u201cgo quite far\u201d\u00a0in terms of intrusion.\u00a0\u201cThey protect, but their presence is marked by their service to diplomacy,\u201d\u00a0the French cyber defense commander was quoted as saying.
\nAccording to the US Cyber Command, a partner nation can request that its teams deploy\u00a0\u201cstrictly defensive\u201d\u00a0hunt forward operations (HFOs) on the host country\u2019s network. The Cyber Command has conducted 35 such operations in 18 countries as of August 2022, including Estonia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, according to a statement on its website.
\nThe Cyber Command said in November that it had deployed\u00a0\u201cits largest hunt forward team yet\u201d\u00a0to help Ukraine track\u00a0\u201cmalicious\u201d\u00a0activities.\u00a0\u201cAlthough the hunt forward team is no longer deployed to Ukraine, Cybercom remains committed and continues to provide support to Ukraine, other allies and partner nations, with US joint forces aligned and supporting the European Theater,\u201d\u00a0the statement read.<\/p>\n