CISA desist

The current U.S. administration’s fixation on the dismantling of public agencies has set its sights on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and it couldn’t be at a worse time.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s oversight at the agency recently has painted a bleak picture of the future of the CISA, and all signs point to yet another tombstone on Capitol Hill in the name of “Returning money to taxpayers.” If you think any of that money is going to anybody who actually pays taxes, then I have a bridge to sell you.

Ignoring literally every terrible thing that’s happening in this country right now, it’s important to look at the ripple effect gutting the CISA will do. The already put-upon agency was dealing with the monumental task of combating both cyberattacks and information cyberwarfare coming out of China and Russia. That also includes domestic disinformation campaigns that almost certainly prompted this witch hunt.

Noem name-dropped Salt Typhoon, a likely Chinese operated threat actor, and breaches that have transpired as one of her primary concerns in her efforts to “restructure” the agency; however, one of the first acts by the administration was to dismantle an advisory board assembled to answer the very question of how those nation state actors were infiltrating so much of the U.S.’s cyber infrastructure.

A month ago, I was part of, and overheard, several whispered conversations from cybersecurity experts concerned about the direction of the nation’s cyber defenses in the coming months. At the next security conference I attend, I don’t think they’ll be whispers anymore.

If we last that long, this homeland isn’t very secure at all.