CISA denies Trump ordered Russia cybersecurity "retreat"
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency insists it is still committed to defending against all threats, including Russia.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has spoken out to deny reports that the Trump administration ordered it to stop defending against Russian cybersecurity threats.
On Saturday, The Guardian reported that the US "no longer characterises Russia as a threat" and has effectively ordered a security stand-down.
However, these claims have now been very publicly questioned.
On X, CISA wrote: "CISA’s mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia. There has been no change in our posture. Any reporting to the contrary is fake and undermines our national security."
It also retweeted claims from Ohio Republican Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who wrote: "This is garbage. The memo referenced in the Guardian’s 'reporting' is not from the Trump Administration, which is quite inconvenient to the Guardian’s preferred narrative.
"CISA remains committed to addressing all cyber threats to US Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia. There has been no change in its posture or priority on this front."
The Guardian published a series of incendiary quotes from an alleged insider and reported that it had seen a memo that set out cybersecurity priorities but did not mention Russia.
Its source said all work on "Russia-related” threats had been “nixed” after a large number of cyber security personnel were fired.
"Our systems are not going to be protected and our adversaries know this,” the source reportedly said.
“People are saying Russia is winning. Putin is on the inside now.”
As President Trump targets CISA cybersecurity workers as part of the administration's workforce purge by offering deferred resignations, CBS News cybersecurity expert & analyst Chris Krebs, who used to run the agency during Trump's first term, tells @margbrennan, based on the… pic.twitter.com/LDuMV6t2mP
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 9, 2025
Additionally, the newspaper reported that Liesyl Franz, deputy assistant secretary for international cybersecurity at the State Department, spoke to a United Nations working group on cybersecurity but named only China and Iran, omitting any mention of Russia. She also did not discuss Russia-linked LockBit, which the US has previously identified as one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs.
The New York Times separately reported that the Trump administration reassigned CISA officials responsible for protecting elections from cyberattacks and other threats to the voting process.
