Trump Revenge Tour Targets Cyber Leaders, Elections
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Summary
The Trump White House last week revoked the security clearance of Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who said the 2020 election was the most secure in US history.
President Trump also wants an investigation of Krebs for alleged abuses of authority.
The extraordinary memo also calls for a comprehensive evaluation of all CISA activities over the last six years.
The inquiry will look at whether Krebs’ or CISA’s conduct “appears to be contrary” to the administration’s commitment to free speech and ending federal censorship, including whether he or she violated suitability standards for federal employees or involved the unauthorized dissemination of classified information.
The Trump administration is also advancing plans to strip civil service protections from 80% of remaining CISA employees, potentially allowing them to be fired for political reasons.
Some security experts are warning that the US-China trade war could spill over into a cyber conflict, given China’s successful efforts to burrow into America’s critical infrastructure networks.
US agencies last month halted work on a coordinated effort to counter Russian disinformation.