The Top Cybersecurity Agency in the US Is Bracing for Donald Trump

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was created in 2018 by reorganizing an existing DHS wing.

CISA became a target of right-wing vitriol after its director rebuffed the president’s election conspiracy theories in 2020 and after it worked with tech companies to combat online misinformation during the 2022 election.

Now, with Trump returning to office vowing to purge disloyal civil servants and turn DHS into an immigration-crackdown machine, CISA employees are acutely worried.

Under Biden , CISA gained broader authority and funding to monitor other agencies’ networks for suspicious activity.

That could change under Trump , especially if senior officials close to Trump bristle at CISA ’s oversight.

CISA employees say they worry that CISA 's ability to express to the nation what we do and what services we offer will “come under attack”.

Noem was the only governor to reject money from a DHS cyber grant program for state and local governments in 2023 , suggesting that she won’t support the program, which expires in late 2025 .

“People within CISA don't want to be considered part of DHS ,” says the first CISA employee.

With DHS leaning harder than ever before, CISA employees are longing for a separation.