CISA Loses Nearly All Top Officials (cybersecuritydive.com) 56
Multiple readers shared the following report about the executive departures at CISA: Virtually all of the top officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have departed the agency or will do so this month, according to an email obtained by Cybersecurity Dive, further widening a growing void in expertise and leadership at the government's lead cyber defense force at a time when tensions with foreign adversaries are escalating.
Five of CISA's six operational divisions and six of its 10 regional offices will have lost top leaders by the end of the month, the agency's new deputy director, Madhu Gottumukkala, informed employees in an email on Thursday. [...] The exits of these leaders could undermine the efficiency and strategic clarity of CISA's partnerships with critical infrastructure operators, private security firms, foreign allies, state governments and local emergency managers, experts say.
Five of CISA's six operational divisions and six of its 10 regional offices will have lost top leaders by the end of the month, the agency's new deputy director, Madhu Gottumukkala, informed employees in an email on Thursday. [...] The exits of these leaders could undermine the efficiency and strategic clarity of CISA's partnerships with critical infrastructure operators, private security firms, foreign allies, state governments and local emergency managers, experts say.
Meanwhile (Score:5, Insightful)
Old penny pincher cheeto is spending tens of millions on a birthday parade.
Re:Meanwhile (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think he has any idea what CISA has, but there evidently is some hostility from people around him due to CISA's efforts to educate people on online disinformation, and its failure to back up claims of election interference in 2020.
Re: (Score:2)
This is a defense matter, the pentagon should deal with securing/defending government networks, including civilian ones.
Ok, well are they doing that?
Re:Meanwhile (Score:5, Informative)
CISA should be shuttered entirely. They fucked up, they left the mission of securing infrastructure behind
No, that's the NSA. You don't know how anything works. (Incidentally, you could actually make that argument about the NSA since they hoard zero-days — which is the CIA's job, not the NSA's — instead of securing our nation's communications infrastructure, which is their mandate. But you don't know how anything works, so you missed that trick.)
Frankly, they are redundant anyway.
CISA sets security standards for the federal government and organizations which interface with the federal government. No other group does that, so it is not redundant. You still don't know how anything works.
This is a defense matter, the pentagon should deal with securing/defending government networks, including civilian ones.
No, The Pentagon is there for managing the military, not non-military portions of the government, which intelligent people understand must be separate from military portions for very important reasons involving freedom. You really don't know how anything works.
Given that you know how nothing works, perhaps you should pipe down and let people who know something about something have a say instead.
Re:Meanwhile (Score:5, Interesting)
Show you don't know what you are talking about and are just ranting without saying it explicitly.
You do realize the division between the military and civilian spheres is there for a good reason and has been since the country was founded?
Re:Meanwhile (Score:5, Interesting)
aggressively label anything contrary to DNC planks disinformation and censor anyone asking quest
I was curious, so I asked the "non-woke" AI LLM (MAGA Elon Musk's Grok) "Did the Democrats used CISA to censor Republicans?"
Here's what it said -
There is no definitive evidence that Democrats used the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to systematically censor Republicans. Claims of this nature primarily stem from Republican allegations, particularly following the 2020 election, asserting that CISA's efforts to combat election misinformation disproportionately targeted conservative voices. These allegations are largely based on CISA's coordination with social media platforms to flag potential disinformation, which some Republicans argue suppressed their speech. For instance, a 2023 House Judiciary Committee report, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, labeled CISA as a central player in alleged federal censorship efforts, pointing to its role in sharing information with tech companies about election-related content.
However, CISA and its defenders, including former officials like Brandon Wales, have consistently denied these claims, stating that the agency's disinformation work was minimal (less than 1% of its budget) and focused on foreign threats, not domestic political speech. CISA's mission includes protecting critical infrastructure and elections from cyber threats, and its collaboration with platforms was intended to counter foreign interference, not to censor Americans. Democrats, such as Rep. Bennie Thompson, have argued that CISA's work is vital for national security and should not be politicized.
Posts on X and some conservative sources, like the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, amplify these accusations, suggesting CISA overstepped its mandate by engaging with social media companies. Yet, these claims lack concrete evidence of direct censorship orders from Democrats targeting Republicans specifically. A 2024 Supreme Court ruling clarified that federal agencies' interactions with tech companies did not violate free speech, as they did not coerce content removal.
On the other side, CISA's actions, such as issuing advisories about foreign disinformation or coordinating with election officials, have been praised by some Republicans and Democrats for strengthening election security. The partisan divide appears to hinge on differing interpretations of CISA's role in monitoring online content, with no conclusive proof of targeted censorship against Republicans. Always approach such claims critically, as they often reflect broader political narratives rather than verified facts.
Re: (Score:2)
I was curious, so I asked the "non-woke" AI LLM (MAGA Elon Musk's Grok) "Did the Democrats used CISA to censor Republicans?"
This is not meaningful without citations (ie, the LLM needs to provide citations, just like any other human).
Re:Meanwhile (Score:4, Interesting)
This is not meaningful without citations
Correct. I didn't paste all the links, but the response cited its nearly 20 sources used to create the response.
If you want to paste the question into Grok yourself you can review them -
https://x.com/i/grok [x.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re:A good rule of thumb for nearly everything... (Score:5, Insightful)
The right is mad because CISA tried to label false information as misinformation because many people accept whatever they hear on social media as fact.
The 2020 election was not stolen, yet many people still believe it was and they cite made up facts that "influencers" convinced them was real. Twitter (X) is today a right wing echo chamber that constantly reposts fake stories about "millions of dead or illegal social security recipients" or "Chelsea Clinton receives millions in USAID"; 100% false stories that people continue to retweet and believe.
The right is free speech absolutists until that free speech is about abortion, atheism, Trans, Gay, etc. CISA tried to stop the Russians and Chinese from corrupting the right, but the right would rather be corrupted.
Re: A good rule of thumb for nearly everything... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Ah yes - the hallmark of authoritarianism: The arbiter of truth is for the church... no... GOVERNMENT to decide. The left was supposed to be the progressive bastion of free speech, but lost all credibility. The right never had any except when they realized, for the most part, that censorship is wrong. Both sides - but particularly yours, is worthy of scorn and ridicule.
Re: A good rule of thumb for nearly everything... (Score:1)
Please keep defending the government getting involved deciding what speech is disinformation, so this administration can also decide what is hate speech and antisemitism, such as criticizing Israel. Your hypocrisy is precisely why you truly don't deserve any sort of constitutional protections, at all.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think he has any idea what CISA has, but there evidently is some hostility from people around him due to CISA's efforts to educate people on online disinformation, and its failure to back up claims of election interference in 2020.
I think the bigger deal here is that Trump ordered them to stop reporting on any bad behavior originating in Russia.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I just think our veterans deserve a little recognition. [youtu.be]
That's what Veterans Day is for, Bart.
But is that really enough to honour our brave soldiers?
They also have Memorial Day!
Oh, Lisa, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, the important thing is that veterans deserve a day to honour them!
They have two!
Well, maybe they should have three. I'm Bart Simpson.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
June 14th in the United States is a holiday called Flag Day [wikipedia.org] and it used to be celebrated with patriotic parades etc as I recall from my youth. Having a big parade in DC on this date would be nothing new,
Sorry, no.
June 14 is indeed Flag Day, but there's never been a Flag Day parade in Washington D.C.. You may be confusing it with the Independence Day parade.
If you actually remember a parade on Flag day from your youth (and aren't just misremembering a fourth of July parade), you probably grew up in Troy NY. (The largest Flag Day parade in the nation is in Troy, New York.)
Re:Perhaps you do not know that... (Score:5, Funny)
June 14th is also Donald Trump's birthday, which simultaneously makes his supporters laugh, yet allows his opponents to mislead and misdirect about what he does on FLAG DAY.
Has he released his birth certificate? He could very well be a muslim from Kenya.
Re:Meanwhile [time for funny tears?] (Score:2)
Mod parent funny for sad tears time? The story has lots of potential for humor, but it seems this FP branch has already crashed into the stupid a few posts down...
Me? You want me to write funny? Fat chance. I'm trying to figure out how the "land of the free" devolved into another "kingdom of greed". Not funny because that trick never lasts.
Re:Meanwhile (Score:4, Interesting)
Old penny pincher cheeto is spending tens of millions on a birthday parade.
President Dumber would have cackled her way into giving up $200 billion because she got a BOGO coupon for next time.
A woman who laughs? How awful. She's a former prosecutor. If she had an R in front of her name she'd have been elected in a landslide. Hell you can rattle off Bernie Sanders policies to MAGA and if you say they're from Trump they'll agree 100%.
Re: (Score:2)
I thought he was determined to lower the national debt? Instead he's pissing away money on the military industrial complex as usual and a parade for himself.
Re: (Score:2)
Fact matter.
https://www.army.mil/1775/#:~:... [army.mil]
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Hello, this is John in New York, I will be pleasing to help you with your cybersecurity this day. First, it is needful that we install the helping software so technician will see your computer. Please to click on the shady looking link we have sent by the SMS, and turn off your Microsoft Defender.
Not surprised (Score:1)
Outsourcing (Score:5, Funny)
All US cybersecurity tasks have now been outsourced to the KGB.
That's what all those root accounts that all governement organizations were forced to create by DOGE are for.
Re:Yawn (Score:4, Insightful)
That's the stupidest take I have heard in some time but it's one that I have heard repeated quite often.
Some people do have loyalty to this nation and their job over a paycheck. Just ask any teacher. Is it true we could pay some people more to retain talent? Definitely. At the same time, some have a sense of a higher calling. We do need adequate pay because as with my other example, teachers, that field is getting left behind. Is it only about pay? Nope.
Re: (Score:1)
LOL teachers, at least is public schools do pretty well.
They only thing that makes the 'under paid' vs the actual hours on the job and effort required is they are forced to be over qualified. Stop demanding k-12 teachers get graduate degrees and it would not be an issue.
Re:Yawn (Score:4, Interesting)
Best I can see only 3 states require a master's to teach, Connecticut, Maryland and NY and I know for a fact in NY (my sister is a NY teacher) that you can get the job with a bachelor's and and then get your master's in your first 5 years (which they help cover the cost of).
Bachelors + State Certification is all that's needed in most states although some require you to continue ongoing education (and many will pay it). Some like Texas you can teach without any degree if you have requisite experience. I would support a measure to expand the teacher supply but let's not act like getting a bachelors is some overly onerous requirement.
People aren't becoming teachers as much because it can be a grueling and sometimes thankless job. [npr.org] Anecdotal but at least from my sister again as she was a dean for a long time as well, most teacher quit because of the parents rather than the students, a lot of teacher's don't get past their first couple years.
Re: (Score:2)
LOL teachers, at least is public schools do pretty well.
As the husband to a teacher, go fuck yourself. They do not, I know nothing about you and I already guarantee you do a fraction of the work for a higher paycheck.
Re: (Score:2)
Everyone in the foodchain, aka pigs in the trough, has their lines ready to justify how this works, but bottom line I don't think there is such a thing as "in house expertise" anymore. Also might explain how come budgets always must go up.
Ministry of Truth (Score:5, Insightful)
The "Department of Government Efficiency" is following the manual for governing provided by George Orwell.
You have to wonder... (Score:5, Insightful)
If Donald Trump was actually a Russian asset, what would he do differently?
Is there anything?
Crippling our cybersecurity organization, antagonizing our allies, cutting off support for a democracy that's being invaded by a tyrant, pardoning people who lied about their contact with said tyrant's government...
Re: (Score:2)
And now you can add "opposing stricter price caps for Russian oil" to that list.
Re: (Score:2)
FFS, he's not even trying to hide it anymore.
"What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire!"
Surprised? I'm not surprised. (Score:5, Insightful)
Does anyone recall this is the government agency that refused to declare that fraud had any role in deciding the 2020 election?
In fact, asserted the opposite of that.
And now Trump is in control again. What would you expect?
Re: (Score:2)
Does anyone recall this is the government agency that refused to declare that fraud had any role in deciding the 2020 election?
Which means they were 100% in line with every Trump legal advisor while under oath.
Limited at best success (Score:2, Interesting)
From a purely technical viewpoint, CISA has not demonstrated meaningful success in its mission to improve national cybersecurity. Most cyberattacks are still detected, reported and mitigated by individual researchers and private companies. CISA plays a largely reactive role, and offers little beyond confirming incidents and reiterating existing best practices. Its investigations often duplicate the work of other agencies, and they are quick to take credit for other peoples work while doing almost nothing th
Tis all a lie (Score:1)
Just checked USAJOBS.gov . There is not a single CISA based job listed. If they are understaffed as bad as this indicates why are there no job postings at their official site for hiring? None, Zero, Zip. Seems to be this article is fake news based on a stolen, uncheckable, email.
Re: (Score:2)
While I admit that I do not have the negative knee-jerk reaction to this article that many others do, I would point out that there is a Federal Hiring Freeze in effect until July 15th, 2025. So that may explain why no jobs openings are advertised.
What I would like to see, and is not in TFA, is WHY these people are leaving these positions. It mentions that the government is making cuts to budgets/headcount, but seems to indicate that the subjects of the article are leaving on their own behest.
consolidation? (Score:1)
We have the feds in Information Security/Spying across all military branches, the FBI, CIA, NSA (yes they spy on us too) and finally CISA.
Would the real organization for protecting US Businesses and Consumers please stand up?
To me, that would be the FBI. So maybe this is a consolidation move?
It's part of the plan (Score:1)
With all protections gone, the sh!t will hit the fan and total chaos will break out. The Cheeto is counting on anarchy so he can trigger martial law. That's how other authoritarian governments implemented their governments.