Cybersecurity Community Must Not Remain Silent On Executive Order Attacking Former CISA Director

Cybersecurity professionals and the infosec community have essential roles to play in protecting our democracy, securing our elections, and building, testing, and safeguarding government infrastructure. It is critically important for us to speak up to ensure that essential work continues and that those engaged in these good faith efforts are not maligned by an administration that has tried to make examples of its enemies in many other fields. 

President Trump has targeted the former Director of the government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Chris Krebs, with an executive order cancelling the security clearances of employees at SentinelOne, where Krebs is now the CIO, and launching a probe of his work in the White House. President Trump had previously fired Krebs in 2020 when, in his capacity as CISA Director, Krebs released a statement calling that election, which Trump lost, “the most secure in American history.” 

The executive order directed a review to “identify any instances where Krebs’ or CISA’s conduct appears to be contrary to the administration’s commitment to free speech and ending federal censorship, including whether Krebs’ conduct was contrary to suitability standards for federal employees or involved the unauthorized dissemination of classified information.” Krebs was, in fact, fired for his public stance. 

We’ve seen this playbook before: In March, Trump targeted law firm Perkins Coie for its past work on voting rights lawsuits and its representation of the President’s prior political opponents in a shocking, vindictive, and unconstitutional executive order. After that order, many in the legal profession, including EFF, pushed back, issuing public statements and filing friend of the court briefs in support of Perkins Coie, and other law firms challenging executive orders against them. This public support was especially important in light of the fact that a few large firms capitulated to Trump rather than fight the orders against them.

It is critical that the cybersecurity community now join together to denounce this chilling attack on free speech and rally behind Krebs and SentinelOne rather than cowering because they fear they will be next. 

The White House must not be given free reign to turn cybersecurity professionals into political scapegoats. EFF regularly defends the infosec community, protecting researchers through education, legal defense, amicus briefs, and involvement in the community with the goal of promoting innovation and safeguarding their rights, and we call on its ranks to join us in defending Chris Krebs and SentinelOne. An independent infosec community is fundamental to protecting our democracy, and to the profession itself.