DHS strikes back!

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Cybersecurity Dive continues to follow the story of CISA’s ongoing dismemberment, which I have traced in my two most recent posts: here and here. Their latest story starts with Rep. Eric Swalwell’s recent letter to CISA, which demands that the agency “..immediately cease all efforts to cut CISA’s workforce, reinstate employees who were transferred or dismissed, and provide details on the impacts of the agency’s workforce reductions.”

As I pointed out in my last post, the sketchy numbers that have leaked out of CISA indicate it is on track to end the year with 69% fewer employees than in January. Of course, this means CISA can’t be trusted be trusted to carry out meaningful work until it’s under completely new management, which won’t be before 2029 at the earliest.

And, given the disgraceful way that CISA has treated the employees they didn’t officially fire – for example, by transferring them to a different agency of DHS like ICE, in a different city, and giving them 7 days to accept the “offer” or resign (without severance pay, of course), it’s hard to see why anybody at all would want to work for them in the future. As Swalwell stated in his letter, ““In order to combat these threats, CISA needs to have sufficient personnel to carry out its mission, particularly at a time when canceled contracts and cooperative agreements have left CISA without critical third-party support.”

But don’t worry, DHS struck back against this impertinent Congressman who insists on receiving information that any civilian agency should be providing as a matter of course. An “unnamed spokesperson” responded:

“During the Biden administration, Rep. Swalwell had no issue with CISA performing duties outside of its statutory authority — including censorship, branding, and electioneering,” the spokesperson said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA focused squarely on executing its statutory mission: serving as the national coordinator for securing and protecting U.S. critical infrastructure.”

“If Rep. Swalwell truly valued CISA’s mission,” the spokesperson added, “he would urge his Democratic colleagues to reopen the government immediately.”

You’ll be surprised to learn that the spokesperson declined to be named. I would decline, too, if I were required to recite such drivel. It’s quite disturbing that current CISA management thinks cybersecurity is just a partisan game. The real enemy is Democrats in Congress. The Russians, Chinese, Iranians and North Koreans? Not so much.

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