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Category: Workforce

Lawmakers probe CISA leader over staffing decisions

The acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency faced pointed questions from lawmakers Wednesday over CISA personnel decisions and staffing levels. Members of the House Homeland Security Committee asked Madhu Gottumukkala about a reported attempt to fire the agency’s chief information officer, efforts to push out a large number of staff and whether…

Sean Plankey re-nominated to lead CISA

President Donald Trump re-nominated Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Tuesday, after Plankey’s bid for the position ended last year stuck in the Senate. It’s not clear whether or how Plankey’s resubmitted nomination will overcome the hurdles that left many observers convinced his chance of becoming CISA director had likely…

Why cybersecurity cannot hire its way through the AI era

The cybersecurity industry has been battling a talent shortage and skills gap for years. Meanwhile, organizations need a new way to approach risk management proactively and more effectively. AI seems the clear answer to both. Open tech roles are trending down or flat, while demand for AI skills is climbing fast. It’s structural change that…

Sean Plankey nomination to lead CISA appears to be over after Thursday vote

Sean Plankey’s nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency looks to be over following his exclusion from a Senate vote Thursday to move forward on a panel of Trump administration picks. Multiple senators placed holds or threatened holds on his nomination, some related to cybersecurity. But the hold from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., appeared…

The realities of CISO burnout and exhaustion

CISOs are facing unprecedented challenges to their mental health due to today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape. They are often held accountable if a breach or disruption occurs, and the average tenure for a CISO tends to decrease significantly after such incidents. This constant pressure makes it difficult for them to find peace, let alone get…

OPM plans to give CyberCorps members more time to find jobs after shutdown ends

The Office of Personnel Management plans to collaborate on a “mass deferment” for a cyber scholarship-for-service program after the government shutdown ends, a spokesman said Monday, as scholarship recipients have sounded fears about being on the hook for their schooling costs during federal hiring freezes and budget cuts. The National Science Foundation (NSF) leads and…

Cyber scholarship-for-service students say government has pulled rug on them, potentially burdening them with debt

A landmark program that offers scholarships in exchange for federal service is threatening to saddle students with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt amid hiring freezes and budget cuts, raising questions about the future of an initiative proponents say has helped close the government’s cyber workforce gap. Some CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service participants…

US ‘slipping’ on cybersecurity, annual Cyberspace Solarium Commission report concludes

The Trump administration should reverse cyber personnel and budget cuts, strengthen the Office of the National Cyber Director and expand federal workforce initiatives, the successor organization to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommended in a report published Wednesday. The annual implementation report from CSC 2.0 is the first of five iterations to actually determine that the…

Swalwell seeks answers from CISA on workforce cuts

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., sent a letter Tuesday to acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala raising concerns about staffing levels and the direction of the nation’s primary cybersecurity agency, writing that the “Trump Administration has undertaken multiple efforts to decimate CISA’s workforce, undermining our nation’s cybersecurity.” Swalwell, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Subcommittee…

CISA work not ‘degraded’ by Trump administration cuts, top agency official says

A top official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Thursday rejected concerns that personnel and program cuts at CISA have hindered its work. Nick Andersen, who just began serving as executive assistant director of cybersecurity at CISA this month, said he’s seen the agency function at a high level from both the outside…

CISA taps Nicholas Andersen for executive assistant director of cybersecurity

Nicholas Andersen is taking over a top leadership role at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA announced Tuesday. He will become executive assistant director of cybersecurity at the agency in a role that’s seen swift turnover in the past year. It’s a position that has, in the past, led CISA efforts on protecting federal…

CISA says it will release telecom security report sought by Sen. Wyden to lift hold on Plankey nomination

Sean Plankey’s path to leading the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency might have one obstacle set to be cleared for removal. With the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee scheduled to hold a vote on his nomination for CISA director Wednesday, the next and final step for Plankey pending approval from the panel would…

Plankey vows to boot China from U.S. supply chain, advocate for CISA budget

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency told senators Thursday that he would prioritize evicting China from the U.S. supply chain, and wouldn’t hesitate to ask for more money for the shrunken agency if he thought it needed it. “If confirmed it will be a priority of mine to remove…

GOP domestic policy bill includes hundreds of millions for military cyber

The tax and spending bill Congress sent to President Donald Trump and that he signed into law over the holiday weekend contains hundreds of millions of dollars for cybersecurity, with a heavy emphasis on military-related spending. The biggest single pot of money under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” would be for Cyber Command, a $250…

Top FBI cyber official: Salt Typhoon ‘largely contained’ in telecom networks

The Chinese hackers behind the massive telecommunications sector breach are “largely contained” and “dormant” in the networks, “locked into the location they’re in” and “not actively infiltrating information,” the top FBI cyber official told CyberScoop. But Brett Leatherman, new leader of the FBI Cyber division, said in a recent interview that doesn’t mean the hackers,…

Sean Cairncross has policy coordination in mind if confirmed as national cyber director

Sean Cairncross laid out his vision to senators Thursday for the Office of the National Cyber Director if he is confirmed to lead it. “A goal of mine is to make sure this office sits at the place that this committee and I believe Congress intended in the statute, and that is to lead cyber…

Experts endorse Sean Cairncross for national cyber director ahead of Senate hearing

President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as national cyber director was endorsed by a collection of cyber experts days before a Senate panel will consider his nomination. The 24 people who signed the letter endorsing Sean Cairncross include former government officials and current industry leaders, many who served in Republican-led administrations but some who also served…

Experts endorse Sean Cairncross for national cyber director ahead of Senate hearing

President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as national cyber director was endorsed by a collection of cyber experts days before a Senate panel will consider his nomination. The 24 people who signed the letter endorsing Sean Cairncross include former government officials and current industry leaders, many who served in Republican-led administrations but some who also served…

Experts endorse Sean Cairncross for national cyber director ahead of Senate hearing

President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as national cyber director was endorsed by a collection of cyber experts days before a Senate panel will consider his nomination. The 24 people who signed the letter endorsing Sean Cairncross include former government officials and current industry leaders, many who served in Republican-led administrations but some who also served…

Top FBI cyber official Cynthia Kaiser exits for Halcyon

Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official, is joining the cybersecurity firm Halcyon this week as senior vice president of its newly created ransomware research center. Kaiser left the FBI last week after 20 years, serving most recently as deputy assistant director leading the bureau’s cyber policy, intelligence and engagement branch and eight years…

Top FBI cyber official Cynthia Kaiser exits for Halcyon

Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official, is joining the cybersecurity firm Halcyon this week as senior vice president of its newly created ransomware research center. Kaiser left the FBI last week after 20 years, serving most recently as deputy assistant director leading the bureau’s cyber policy, intelligence and engagement branch and eight years…

Top FBI cyber official Cynthia Kaiser exits for Halcyon

Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official, is joining the cybersecurity firm Halcyon this week as senior vice president of its newly created ransomware research center. Kaiser left the FBI last week after 20 years, serving most recently as deputy assistant director leading the bureau’s cyber policy, intelligence and engagement branch and eight years…

Trump budget proposal would slash more than 1,000 CISA jobs

The fiscal 2026 budget proposal President Donald Trump unveiled last week would make deep cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency workforce, with a goal of eliminating 1,083 positions and chopping its budget by $495 million, to $2.4 billion. That’s a slightly deeper total cut than an earlier budget outline forecast. And a new…

Trump budget proposal would slash more than 1,000 CISA jobs

The fiscal 2026 budget proposal President Donald Trump unveiled last week would make deep cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency workforce, with a goal of eliminating 1,083 positions and chopping its budget by $495 million, to $2.4 billion. That’s a slightly deeper total cut than an earlier budget outline forecast. And a new…

Trump budget proposal would slash more than 1,000 CISA jobs

The fiscal 2026 budget proposal President Donald Trump unveiled last week would make deep cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency workforce, with a goal of eliminating 1,083 positions and chopping its budget by $495 million, to $2.4 billion. That’s a slightly deeper total cut than an earlier budget outline forecast. And a new…

Federal cyber workforce training institute eyed in bipartisan House bill

The federal cybersecurity workforce — an ever-shrinking group of tech talent under the Trump administration — would get a government-run training and development boost under a new bill from a bipartisan pair of House lawmakers. The Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act from Reps. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, calls on the National Cyber…

DHS won’t tell Congress how many people it’s cut from CISA

The Department of Homeland Security won’t tell Congress how many employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency it has fired or pushed to leave, a top congressional Democrat said Wednesday. “You’ve overseen mass reductions in the workforce at CISA and” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the…

CrowdStrike cuts 5% of workforce after revenue jumped 29% last year

CrowdStrike is cutting 5% of its workforce, about 500 positions, telling its staff that it’s shifting resources and realigning its operating model for growth in new market segments, according to a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is slashing headcount following a year of significant growth in a strong market. CrowdStrike’s revenue…

Trump administration proposes cutting $491M from CISA budget

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal would slash $491 million from the budget of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, according to a summary released Friday. That would amount to a nearly 17% reduction to the agency’s approximately $3 billion budget. The administration did not release a detailed itemization of the cuts, only an…

Congressional officials wonder how CISA can carry out core mission in face of workforce cuts

SAN FRANCISCO – In her appearance at the RSAC 2025 Conference, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke about getting CISA back to its “core mission” of protecting federal networks and critical infrastructure from cybersecurity threats.  Other cyber policy experts wonder how that is going to unfold with such concentration on cutting CISA’s workforce.  Congressional staffers…

Cybersecurity vendors are themselves under attack by hackers, SentinelOne says

Cybersecurity companies don’t just defend their customers against cyberattacks — they also have to defend themselves, and a SentinelOne report published Monday examines some of the biggest threats they’re facing. Those include ransomware, Chinese government-sponsored hackers and North Korean IT workers posing as job applicants, according to the report from SentinelOne’s SentinelLabs. “In recent months,…

CISA gets new No. 2: Madhu Gottumukkala

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will soon have a new second-in-command. Madhu Gottumukkala has been named deputy director. He comes over to CISA from his prior position in the South Dakota government, where Kristi Noem was most recently governor before taking over as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Gottumukkala had been commissioner…

Multiple top CISA officials behind ‘Secure by Design’ resign 

Two top officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who worked with the private sector to manufacture secure products and technology are leaving the agency. Bob Lord, senior technical adviser and Lauren Zabierek, senior advisor at CISA, were both chief architects behind CISA’s Secure by Design initiative, which garnered voluntary commitments from major vendors…

Chris Krebs resigns from SentinelOne to focus on fighting Trump’s executive order

Chris Krebs has resigned from SentinelOne, saying he needs to devote himself fully to fighting the executive order President Donald Trump signed to target his former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The executive order was a key touchpoint in Trump’s unprecedented campaign to punish those he views as his enemies. While at…

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Rep. Swalwell demands Hill briefing on planned CISA personnel cuts

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency must brief Congress on proposed deep cuts to agency personnel, a top Democrat said in a letter to its acting director. California Rep. Eric Swalwell, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, wrote in the letter to acting Director Bridget Bean on Thursday…

Democratic FTC Commissioners file lawsuit against Trump over attempted firings

Democratic commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying his administration’s attempts to fire them violate the FTC Act and Supreme Court precedent. The lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, asks the court to declare the president’s actions unlawful, affirm the statutory…

Amid personnel turmoil at cyber agencies, a government shutdown could increase potential harm

A potential government shutdown looms by the end of this week if Congress doesn’t pass legislation to keep funding the federal government, a development that could worsen problems cyber personnel and agencies are experiencing under the second Trump administration, experts say. Many cyber feds would likely be exempt from furloughs during a government shutdown, common…

Sean Plankey picked by Trump to be CISA director 

President Donald Trump nominated Sean Plankey to head the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Committee on Tuesday, the last major piece to fall into place for cybersecurity leadership in his administration. Plankey served in the first Trump administration, holding a few posts with cyber responsibilities. He was the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Energy Department’s…

Cyber workforce legislation vote gives rise to partisan rift on House Homeland Security Committee

A partisan divide opened Wednesday over a bill to bolster the cyber workforce, legislation that earned unanimous support in the House Homeland Security Committee last year but that Democrats are now wary of under President Donald Trump. Under the legislation, students at technical schools and community colleges would receive scholarships in return for two years…

Karen Evans steps into a leading federal cyber position: executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA

Federal IT and cyber government veteran Karen Evans is the new executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It’s one of the most prominent cyber jobs in the federal government, previously held by Jeff Greene and Eric Goldstein. A description of the post on the CISA website says that the…

Former NSA, Cyber Command chief Paul Nakasone says U.S. falling behind its enemies in cyberspace

The United States is falling “increasingly behind” its adversaries in cyberspace, a former Cyber Command and National Security Agency boss said Saturday. Speaking at the DistrictCon cybersecurity conference in Washington, D.C., retired Gen. Paul Nakasone said that “our adversaries are continuing to be able to broaden the spectrum of what they’re able to do to…

No, that’s not the acting head of the Social Security Administration. That’s a former CISA employee.

A longtime former employee of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an agency in the midst of curtailing its anti-misinformation and disinformation work under President Donald Trump, has found himself being misidentified online as a key figure in another Trump administration battle. On social media and in some news outlets, Ross Foard, a former CISA…

Trump picks Sean Cairncross for national cyber director

President Donald Trump has selected Sean Cairncross — a former White House and Republican National Committee official and the former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a federal foreign aid agency — to be his national cyber director. Cairncross hasn’t held any major cyber-related positions, but during his time in the Trump White House as…

National Cyber Director Harry Coker looks back (and ahead) on the Cyber Director office

Days after the four-year anniversary of the creation of the Office of the National Cyber Director and days before its current chief is set to depart, that man, Harry Coker Jr., looked both backward and forward at the office in a speech Tuesday and a separate interview with CyberScoop. Coker touched on software liability, regulations,…