‘They got rid of some of our best talent’: How Trump is hacking away at America’s cyber defenses
Alex Pasternack
3–4 minutes

“We’ve had many, many threats against our nation,” President Trump said in the Oval Office in November 2018, as he announced the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Now “we’re putting people that are the best in the world in charge,” he said, “and I think we’re going to have a whole different ball game.”

Eight years later, his second administration is ripping up parts of the country’s cyber playbook and taking many of its best players off the field, from threat hunters and election defenders at CISA to the leader of the NSA and Cyber Command. Amid a barrage of severe attacks like Volt Typhoon and rising trade tensions, lawmakers, former officials, and cyber professionals say that sweeping and confusing cuts are making the country more vulnerable and emboldening its adversaries.

“There are intrusions happening now that we either will never know about or won’t see for years because our adversaries are undoubtedly stepping up their activity, and we have a shrinking, distracted workforce,” says Jeff Greene, a cybersecurity expert who has held top roles at CISA and the White House.

The dismissals and budget cuts have eliminated hundreds of workers and jeopardized dozens of initiatives that help protect machines, networks, and individuals across the U.S. Most of the cuts are at CISA, which sits under the Department of Homeland Security and partners with the public and private sectors to defend grids, banks, networks, and other critical industries. It’s also responsible for protecting elections from hackers and foreign influence campaigns, efforts the President and Republicans have long accused of political censorship.

Around 400 positions at the Dept. of Homeland Security have been cut so far, and in total, 1,300 jobs could be cut at CISA, or over a third of the agency’s workforce. Some of the earliest cuts hit contractors and probationary employees at CISA, eliminating an elite slate of experts recently hired through a new program geared toward attracting more talent from the private sector. (After a judge ordered the probationary workers to be rehired, the agency immediately placed them on administrative leave.)

“They got rid of some of our best cyber talent,” says another former White House cyber official, speaking anonymously to avoid retribution. “It’s fucking ridiculous.”

Many anticipated CISA would face heavy scrutiny under Trump 2.0, especially for its election security work. During her confirmation hearing, DHS chief Kristi Noem said the agency had gone “off-mission” with its work on elections and disinformation, and that she intends to make CISA “smaller and more nimble.” (Project 2025 called for closing the agency and moving what remains to the Dept. of Transportation.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex is a writer and editor at Fast Company, where he covers technology, science, and politics. Previously he was founding editor in chief and producer of Motherboard at Vice, where he led an award-winning team of web and video journalists More