Trump Fires Christopher Krebs
Table of Contents
- By Dawna M. Roberts
- Published: Nov 23, 2020
- Last Updated: Mar 18, 2022
Last week President Donald Trump fired the beloved director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, Christopher Krebs. Trump's administration claims that the firing is simply part of a restaffing as Tump prepares to exit the presidency. Other top officials have been let go, including Trump's defense secretary. President Trump fired Krebs via Twitter last Tuesday. CISA's Deputy Director Matt Travis resigned a few hours after the firing. Brandon Wales, CISA's executive director, will step in as acting director until the position is permanently filled.
Why Krebs was Fired
Even though security experts credit Krebs and the CISA with keeping this year's presidential election secure and fraud-free, Trump, who has not yet conceded to President-elect Joe Biden, blames vote tampering and fraud as the reason for his ousting. Currently, Trump has pending lawsuits against a few different states.
Krebs saw the writing on the wall, and the firing did not come unexpectedly. The CISA nor The White House has provided any public comment on the firing.
The InfoSec community, republicans, and democrats offer plentiful support to Krebs, who is well known to be a cybersecurity superstar. Just about everyone agrees that the 2020 election (despite COVID and hacker engagement) was the safest ever in history. A joint statement issued by CISA and the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council said," There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."
Support for Krebs
According to DataBreach Today, "Retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. Gregory Touhill, who formerly served as CISO of the United States and is currently CEO of Appgate Federal, says that removing Krebs from a cybersecurity leadership role diminishes the country's ability to defend itself and increases its cyber risk."
Support for Krebs was illustrated through Senator Richard Burr's comments, "Chris Krebs is a dedicated public servant who has done a remarkable job during a challenging time. Chris and his team at CISA have worked diligently to strengthen our election infrastructure, helping to shore up vulnerabilities and build trust between state and federal governments."
Tom Kellermann, the previous cybersecurity adviser to former President Barack Obama, said that "Chris was a champion of the cybersecurity community. He is responsible for galvanizing the public-private partnership and for strengthening the security of America's critical infrastructures."
House Representative William Hurt (Texas) said via Twitter last week, "Chris Krebs is a true patriot. He was instrumental in us having one of the most secure elections in history despite bad actors trying to influence our elections. His service should have been rewarded, not dismissed."
Philip Reitinger, President and CEO of Global Cyber Alliance, was quoted as saying, "Removing the nation's cyber and election security leader during a presidential transition, when the threat of disinformation about the election result remains, undermines the homeland and national security of the United States."
Another supporter, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-RI, said, "His work at CISA has drawn praise from across the political spectrum, and his team has done an exemplary job improving our election security over the past four years."
Krebs himself thanked his agency for their support and his teammates for their service.
Support for Krebs was not limited to the U.S.; spokespeople from all over the globe chimed in on Twitter to support Krebs and thank him for his service and impact on the country's cybersecurity.
Mission Accomplished
During the last few months, CISA set up a section on its website called Rumor Control to refute misinformation, including rumors about election tampering and fraud. The initiative was put into place to give the American people peace of mind so they could feel that the election was 100% safe.
Trump received a lot of condemnation for his decision to fire Krebs, who was credited with the success of the agency in handling not only election security but also threats related to COVID. CISA and Krebs' efforts also profoundly helped to secure healthcare organizations struggling to provide care during the pandemic and vaccine researcher facilities.
What Now?
Cybersecurity experts are worried about what this will mean for the future of cybersecurity in America. They are concerned that politics is dictating infrastructure policy. The two need to be separate for it to work. In a letter written by a group of security experts, they claim, "Bottom line: election security officials and computer security experts must be able to do their jobs without fear of retribution for finding and publicly stating the truth about the security and integrity of the election."
Christopher Krebs has all the confidence in his team that no matter who is leading them, they will continue to push the needle forward and secure our infrastructure and systems even further to meet the challenges that lay ahead.