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On Tuesday, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the new president of the United States, the Department of Homeland Security told members of several advisory committees that they were effectively fired.
Among the affected committees Cyber Security Review Boardor CSRB, according to sources familiar with the board who spoke to TechCrunch, as well as reports from others news points of sale. The CSRB was comprised of both private sector and government cybersecurity specialists.
A person familiar with the receiving CSRB letter criticizing the decision, stating that CSRB membership has been terminated.
“It was terribly short-sighted to shut down all DHS advisory boards without considering the impact,” the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told TechCrunch. “It is a dangerous mistake to suspend a CSRB investigation when China has launched sustained cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure. We must learn from Typhoon Duz and protect ourselves better. The fact that this is not a priority for Trump is revealed.”
“You can’t stop what you don’t understand, and CSRB was arming us with understanding,” the person added.
That person was referring to the CSRB’s investigation recent devastating breaches hour a few telecommunications is claimed to have been carried out by Chinese government hackers.
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CISA spokeswoman Valerie Mongello referred TechCrunch’s request for comment to DHS, but did not respond to a request for comment.
“In keeping with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to eliminating abuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately,” he said. A letter was sent to CSRB members.
Another person familiar with the matter noted, “It’s interesting that the rationale is ‘abuse of resources,’ since all advisory board members are paid an alarmingly rich salary… $0.”
Katie Moussouris, a cybersecurity expert with more than two decades of experience and a former member of the CSRB, told TechCrunch that “people who serve as government advisers should be judged on their ability and merit, not their political affiliation. I hope that these critical advisory board vacancies will be filled with the most qualified people without delay.”
The CSRB conducted an investigation Breach of US government email systems provided by Microsoftalso allegedly carried out by Chinese government hackers. In March last year The committee published a report in an event that has been widely applauded in the cybersecurity community.
Other DHS advisory committee members reportedly affected by the DHS decision are those involved in artificial intelligence, telecommunications, science and technology, and emergency preparedness.
