Chris Krebs’ comments were the first time he spoke publicly since Trump signed an order directing the Justice Department to investigate him.
Chris Krebs testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing concerning the roles and responsibilities for defending the nation against cyberattacks on Capitol Hill on October 19, 2017, in Washington, DC. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Krebs, the former head of the nation’s cyber defense agency whom President Donald Trump forced from office in his first term, on Monday called on the cyber and tech community to express “outrage” over the major recent administration cuts to U.S. federal cyber programs.
Krebs’ comments were the first time he spoke publicly since Trump signed an order directing the Justice Department to investigate him for defending the validity of the 2020 elections while serving as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and demonstrated brewing concerns from industry about changes in Washington.
“Cybersecurity is national security, we all know that, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we get up every morning and do our jobs,” Krebs said during a panel at the RSA Conference, one of the largest annual global gatherings of cyber professionals in San Francisco. “We are protecting everyone out there, and right now to see what’s happening to the cybersecurity community inside the federal government, we should be outraged, absolutely outraged.”
Positive response:
Krebs’ comments were met with massive applause in a room that was already overflowing with hundreds of attendees. They were made in the wake of mass rounds of layoffs and offers of deferred resignations that have hit CISA in recent weeks as part of efforts by Elon Musk’s DOGE to downsize the federal government, efforts that have also included pausing all election security programs at the agency.
The former director made the pitch to “Make CISA Great Again,” particularly in the face of expanding threats to the U.S. in cyberspace from nations including China.
“We are not moving forward, we have to continue moving forward,” Krebs said of current federal cyber efforts.
Larger push:
CISA is far from alone in being targeted for changes by the Trump administration. The State Department’s cyber bureau is set to be pulled apart through the reorganization of the agency announced by Secretary Marco Rubio last week, while the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command are without Senate-confirmed leadership after President Donald Trump abruptly dismissed Gen. Timothy Haugh from leading both earlier this month.
Trump also this month signed a memorandum directing an investigation into Krebs’ comments while CISA director in 2020 following the presidential election that it was valid and not stolen, an order that also included a clause stripping any former official who works with Krebs of their security clearance. Krebs subsequently stepped down from his role as chief intelligence and public policy officer at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne to protect his colleagues.
Concerns mounting:
Former cyber officials have started to step forward to defend CISA and other agencies amid the changes, including from former CISA Director Jen Easterly, Krebs’ successor who left the role in January. Easterly posted on LinkedIn last week calling for leaders to stand up and protest the changes at cyber agencies, comments that Krebs praised on Monday.
“We need more Cyber Command, more fighters,” Krebs said. “We need more folks at the NSA collecting intel. We need more front line defenders, threat hunters, red teamers, folks that are just doing CISA admin, the basics, we need more of that, not less.”
By: Maggie Miller (Cybersecurity Reporter, POLITICO)
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