In 2016, two years before President Trump started CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, I answered a reporter query about cybersecurity public/private partnerships. After my history with the FBI bureaucracy and InfraGard, I didn’t think any public/private partnership stood a chance of success, because some incompetent politician would find a way to mess it up.
In 2018, President Trump started CISA and hired Chris Krebs as its first director.
I Was Wrong and then I Was Right
For a while, I was wrong.
CISA quickly earned credibility by acting as a non-political, public information-sharing clearinghouse for threat intelligence. And it was useful threat intelligence, not the rehashed headlines I had seen earlier from InfraGard. CISA hired competent people and built a reputation as a cybersecurity community leader. Which is not easy in a cybersecurity community filled with skeptics who do not trust government. CISA also stepped up as a CVE.org sponsor, taking a leading role categorizing and reporting on ongoing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. CVEs, Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, are a big deal in the IT industry.
And then, in April, 2025, I was right.
It started when whack-job Laura Loomer met with President Trump in the White House on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and suggested he fire NSA Director, General Timothy Haugh and other NSA staffers she said were not loyal enough to Trump. Turned out, that Oval Office meeting was a sales call for her new opposition research firm.
On April 3, 2025, Trump accepted Laura Loomer’s recommendation and fired them.
Advice from Nut Jobs
This is the same Laura Loomer who grossed out even Marjorie Taylor Greene when she posted on September 28 2024:
If @KamalaHarris wins, the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand.
On April 13, 2025, Loomer posted a rant against Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish:
Josh Shapiro @GovernorShapiro is one of the top Democrat contenders for President in 2028. He supports the Islamification of our country and is making the choice to tolerate Islamic Jew hatred and Sharia Supremacy. Even worse, he’s funding it with millions of dollars at the expense of our national security. We have 4 years to educate the public about the threat of Islamic infiltration in our country and severely damage the Islamic 501c3 fundraising apparatus by reopening the Holy Land Foundation Terrorism financing case, designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, and stripping all Muslim groups with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood of their tax exempt status . After Trump, there is no guarantee that the US won’t be conquered by Islam. Republicans need to take the threat of Islam seriously. There needs to be a nation wide push to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and Republican lawmakers need to start calling for the revocation of the 501c3 status of Islamic groups. If this doesn’t happen over the next 4 years, there won’t be a way to Make America Great Again long term.
Now she advises the President of the United States.
Tear CISA Down
And then on April 9, 2025, Trump went after former CISA Director, Chris Krebs, with an official presidential memorandum. Some might interpret this paragraph as a high crime or misdemeanor.
I further direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with any other agency head, to take all appropriate action to review Krebs’ activities as a Government employee, including his leadership of CISA. This review should identify any instances where Krebs’ conduct appears to have been contrary to suitability standards for Federal employees, involved the unauthorized dissemination of classified information, or contrary to the purposes and policies identified in Executive Order 14149 of January 20, 2025 (Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship). As part of that review, I direct a comprehensive evaluation of all of CISA’s activities over the last 6 years, focusing specifically on any instances where CISA’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies identified in Executive Order 14149. Upon completing these reviews, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall prepare a joint report to be submitted to the President, through the Counsel to the President, with recommendations for appropriate remedial or preventative actions to be taken to fulfill the purposes and policies of Executive Order 14149.
[I added the link and italicized the last sentence for emphasis.]
Trump is still mad at Krebs because after the 2020 election, Krebs contradicted Trump and told the world that nobody stole the election. Trump fired Krebs for that. Krebs landed on his feet and eventually took a position as chief intelligence and public policy officer with a cybersecurity company named SentinelOne.
And now, four and a half years after Trump fired Krebs from CISA, in the name of restoring trust in government and ending government censorship, Trump attacked SentinelOne and Krebs. Krebs will now spend the next several years fighting a fishing expedition from the United States Government.
Abuse of Power
Is this an outrageous abuse of power? Well, as we say in Minnesota, duh! Too bad the cybersecurity industry remains silent. As of this writing, I am unable to find anyone in the cybersecurity industry defending Krebs and condemning this abuse of power. So I’ll do it. Don’t back down to bullies. Not on the playground, not when they wear nice suits, not even when they’re at the top of government. Because backing down to bullies only leads to more bullying.
But for private-sector companies, it’s not that simple. If the President of the United States deprives a company of access to customers, then it dies. Trump did it to law firms who hired attorneys he doesn’t like by revoking their security clearances and access to government offices. In April, 2025, he did it to cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, who hired a former CISA director he doesn’t like. Who’s next? So, company leaders hunker down and hope our government leaders come to their senses. Good luck with that. With Trump in charge, telling the emperor he has no clothes might become a bankruptcy-enabling event years later.
I hope Chris Krebs finds a great attorney willing to work pro bono when the United States Department of Justice comes summoning. And I hope Krebs and his attorneys share a large financial settlement after they win a future lawsuit against the government for unconstitutional behavior. It’s a shame the Supreme Court ruled the president is above the law when performing official duties.
I wish I was still wrong about that public/private partnership idea. It was finally beginning to make a difference keeping our digital infrastructure safe. Until a mob boss wannabe dictator ruined it. If were a professional NSA or CISA employee, I would be looking for somewhere else to work. There are plenty of private sector choices.
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