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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →U.S. Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) took part in 22 hunt-forward operations across 17 countries in 2023, according to General Timothy D. Haugh’s Senate Armed Services Committee testimony as reported by SecurityWeek. The number counts operations—not 22 governments or 22 different countries.
What the 22 operations involved
Hunt-forward operations are defensive cyber missions carried out at a partner’s invitation. U.S. personnel work alongside local teams to search for malicious activity, monitor and analyze threats, and share findings. The purpose is to help partners improve their cyber defenses while giving the United States insight into threats that may affect shared networks and interests.
U.S. Cyber Command says its teams identify and analyze activity but do not mitigate threats on a partner’s network. The partner’s personnel decide what action to take based on the findings. In a 2023 speech, Assistant Secretary of Defense John Plumb described the approach as working “side-by-side” with allies and partners on their networks, at their invitation, to track down malicious activity (Department of Defense speech).
Publicly described operations in Albania and Latvia
Albania
After a significant cyberattack in 2022, a CNMF team conducted a defensive operation with Albania. U.S. Cyber Command said the work helped the partners understand shared threats and strengthen network security. The command describes hunt-forward operations as a way to improve understanding of shared threats and enhance the security of critical networks relied on by the United States and its partners (U.S. Cyber Command’s Albania release).
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Latvia
A separate three-month operation paired U.S. personnel with Latvia’s CERT and the Canadian Armed Forces to hunt for threats focused on Latvian critical infrastructure. The public account says the U.S. and Canadian personnel hunted simultaneously alongside Latvian counterparts (U.S. Cyber Command’s Latvia release).
These are documented examples, not a complete list of the countries or missions counted in the 2023 total. Public reporting does not provide a full country-by-country breakdown of all 22 operations.
Why other Cyber Command totals do not match
News coverage of Haugh’s testimony gives an annual 2023 figure: 22 operations across 17 countries. Other public figures are cumulative snapshots reported at different points in 2023 and count deployments, countries, or networks rather than that annual operation total.
| Figure | Reporting period and unit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 22 operations across 17 countries | CNMF activity during 2023; annual operation count, reported in 2024 | SecurityWeek, citing Haugh’s Senate testimony |
| 44 deployments to 22 countries and nearly 70 networks | Cumulative snapshot reported in March 2023; deployments, countries, and networks | U.S. Cyber Command |
| 47 deployments to 22 countries and more than 70 networks | Cumulative snapshot reported in May 2023; deployments, countries, and networks | U.S. Cyber Command |
The cumulative deployment and network figures use different units and reporting dates. They should not be added to, or treated as direct alternatives to, the annual count of 22 operations.
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What the public figures do—and do not—show
The reported total establishes the scale of CNMF’s activity, while official releases explain the defensive, collaborative model and offer selected examples. The public material does not establish the detailed findings from every mission or an independently measured aggregate improvement in partner security. The missions’ stated aims and reported benefits are not, by themselves, measurements of their overall effect.
A 2023 statutory provision required a comprehensive framework intended to improve the consistency, execution, and effectiveness of hunt-forward operations (statutory provision). That requirement describes a policy direction; it does not document the outcomes of the 22 operations.
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