NSA says it is 'not the best time' to create a US-Russia cyber unit
When Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin, the pair apparently discussed the idea of the two nations forming an "impenetrable Cyber Security unit." It's an unlikely partnership, to say the least, and NSA Director Mike Rogers has voiced his disapproval of the move.
Given the, erm, interesting relationship between the US and Russia, the controversy surrounding Russia's possible hacking of the last election, and Trump's ongoing problems defending himself over rumored Russian ties, it's perhaps little surprise that the NSA chief says "now is probably not the best time" for the two superpowers to work together on such a project.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum this weekend, Mike Rogers was asked whether he thought teaming up with Russia to create a cybersecurity division was a good idea. He replied simply: "I'm not a policy guy here... I would argue now is probably not the best time to be doing this."
Considering the controversy surrounding Russia's interest in the US, it's not clear that there will be a good time for collaboration -- nor is it really clear how serious or detailed Trump and Putin's previous discussion on the matter were. Trump himself has said: "The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't." But given the president's track record of self-contradiction, it's impossible to read much into this.
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