A Cataclysmic Week In the Nation's Cybersecurity

A Tumultuous Week for Federal Cybersecurity Efforts – Krebs on Security

January 27, 2025

These are the key points from the article on cybersecurity.

  1. Executive Orders: President Trump issued several executive orders disrupting government cybersecurity initiatives, including firing all advisors from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) and creating a strategic cryptocurrency reserve.

  2. Cyber Safety Review Board: The CSRB, established in 2022, investigated major cybersecurity events but was disbanded by Trump. Key investigations affected included the Log4Shell crisis and Chinese state-sponsored hacking.

  3. CISA Criticism: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, newly confirmed as DHS director, criticized CISA for its focus on misinformation1, suggesting a shift back to its core mission of hardening federal IT systems and addressing digital intrusions.

  1. TSA Chief Dismissal: David Pekoske, the TSA chief responsible for critical cybersecurity improvements, was fired despite his contributions to pipeline, rail, and aviation sectors.

  2. AI & Cryptocurrency: Trump voided a Biden executive order on AI research, promoting a new AI Action Plan and strategic national digital assets stockpile. The new administration’s stance on AI and cryptocurrency is influenced by Trump family investments in memecoins.

  3. Weaponization & Disinformation: Trump issued orders to end alleged weaponization of federal agencies and to restore free speech, impacting security, privacy, and civil liberties. This included pardoning individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot and asserting free speech rights against federal censorship.

  4. CISA’s Mission Shift: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)) was established in 2018 to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats. It has since taken on additional roles in combating misinformation and disinformation, which has been a point of controversy.

  5. AI Action Plan: The Trump administration’s executive order on AI calls for an AI Action Plan, aiming to position the U.S. as a leader in artificial intelligence. The plan includes eliminating barriers to AI development and ensuring AI systems are free from ideological bias.

  6. Cryptocurrency Regulation: The Trump administration’s focus on cryptocurrency includes developing a regulatory framework for digital assets and creating a strategic national digital assets stockpile. This reflects the growing influence of cryptocurrencies in the global financial landscape.

  7. Weaponization of Federal Agencies: The concept of “weaponization” refers to the alleged misuse of federal agencies for political purposes. Trump’s executive orders aim to address these concerns by ending what he perceives as prosecutorial overreach and restoring free speech.2

The CSRB was in the midst of an inquiry into cyber intrusions uncovered recently across a broad spectrum of U.S. telecommunications providers at the hands of Chinese state-sponsored hackers. One of the CSRB’s most recognizable names is Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Krebs was fired by President Trump in November 2020 for declaring the presidential contest was the most secure in American history, and for refuting Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

Kristi Noem during her confirmation testimony before the Senate for Secretary of Homeland Security:

  • “CISA needs to be much more effective, smaller, more nimble, to really fulfill their mission. The mission of it is to hunt and harden. It’s to find those bad actors and help work with local and state critical infrastructure entities so that they can help them be prepared for such cyberattacks.”
  • “The misinformation and disinformation that they have stuck their toe into and meddled with, should be refocused back onto what their job is.”
  • “We also need to have CISA have interaction with the FBI, CIA to make sure they’re working together to stop these types of threats and identify when they’re growing among our citizens. We have to plan bigger and think faster and smarter. One of the things that disturbs me the most is that we don’t necessarily even know how some of these espionage attacks that have infiltrated our systems have happened. We don’t know how to stop them yet.”

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration (TSA) White House

  1. @RalphHightower: Here we get to the crux of the matter. Trump](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) depends on misinformation. It is his very lifeblood. ↩

  2. @RalphHightower: “Free Speech” only applies to those media that parrot [Trump’s] lies. Trump ↩

Related Posts