Ex-US Cyber Command Chief: Europe And 5 Eyes Can't Fully Replicate US Intel

If the United States stopped sharing cyber-threat intel with Ukraine, its European allies and the rest of the Five Eyes nations wouldn't be able to provide all the info Uncle Sam collects, according to former chief of US Cyber Command and the NSA General Paul Nakasone.

Washington's week-long pause on sharing intel with Ukraine earlier this month "concerns" the retired General.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal Tech Live Cybersecurity event in New York this week, Nakasone described the threat info that the Pentagon shares with its allies as "a crown jewel of US intelligence."

"Being able to leverage that and being able to provide it to a partner is something that really gives you a marked advantage over anyone in the world," Nakasone continued.

When asked whether Ukraine's European allies and the rest of the Five Eyes nations (Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, minus the US) could provide the cybersecurity and threat information currently delivered by America, Nakasone replied: "Capable, but not completely."

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A freeze on US intelligence sharing with its close partners, previously unthinkable, has become entered the realm of possibility over the past month as President Donald Trump has hastily rewritten foreign policy.

In addition to the temporary halt on intelligence sharing earlier this month, Trump also paused all military aid to Ukraine for a week in a move that, were it permanent, would "pretty much guarantees a Russian victory," one source told CNN.

The sudden changes in US policy have put pressure on the UK and European countries to increase military assistance to Ukraine. Questions are also being asked about what intel is safe to share with Washington after major foreign policy swings, such as seeking to partner with Russian President Vladimir Putin, siding with Moscow in United Nations votes, falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war with Russia, and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator for not holding elections during an invasion and berating the Ukrainian president during an Oval Office shouting match. ®