Scoop: Top Trump cyber officials are in discussions to cancel their attendance at the RSAC Conference in March after a top Biden-era cyber leader was named as CEO of the conference ⬇️

UL, company overseeing FCC's Cyber Trust Mark IoT labeling program, has withdrawn amid an FCC probe into UL's China ties: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-cyb... Could be a big setback for the program, a Biden admin priority. I previewed this in Sept: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-cyb...

Trump suggests US used cyberattacks to turn off lights in Venezuela during strikes

NEW: Trump said the U.S. will temporarily "run" Venezuela until a leadership transition takes place after the U.S. military captured Maduro.

During the press conference, President Trump said the “lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have” during the strikes on Venezuela. Gen. Caine later noted that Cyber Command was among the US agencies involved in the strikes.

Took a deep dive into the main cyber angle of the Venezuela conflict in today’s National Security Daily: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

NEW: The Pentagon inspector general says Hegseth’s Signal use endangered U.S. troops and missions and the department still lacks a secure messaging platform.

A neutral arbiter agrees: @politico.com violated our contract and its own journalistic standards when it deployed AI. Our readers deserve news, not slop! wbng.org/2025/12/01/p...

NEW: DHS is pushing ahead in building a searchable national citizenship system it wants to use to go through voter rolls. Over 46 million voters have been run through the checks already. www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

With the House coming back into session, the House Budget Committee has scheduled a hearing for next week — on oversight of the recently hacked Congressional Budget Office. Expect the intrusion to a top subject of conversation: budget.house.gov/hearing/over...

CISA's stakeholder engagement division hasn't sent updates about the F5 intrusion in the last week, an industry source tells me. and following RIF notices this month, the division is expected to host a town hall Thursday to discuss those cuts. new from me: www.axios.com/2025/10/21/f...

I know this stuff isn't surprising anymore but I really can't stress enough how much everybody involved with CISA and cyber tried to keep the field nonpolitical and nonpartisan before this administration.

"We’re a little bit more on our own": State and local cybersecurity officials band together as the Trump administration turns its back on them. Nice story by @maggiemiller.bsky.social: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

EXCLUSIVE: Trump is expected to nominate Lt. Gen. William Hartman, the acting leader of both the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, to formally lead both agencies.

BREAKING: Social Security Administration chief data officer and whistle-blower Charles Borges has resigned after bombshell report that SSA put highly-sensitive data at risk. He sent out an email to colleagues moments ago. Here is the text of his email shared with me:

Scoop for Pros: Laurie Buckhout, acting assistant secretary of Defense for cyber policy, is stepping down from the role next week ahead of moving to another position in the Trump administration: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

First in Politico: @wyden.senate.gov is calling on the Supreme Court to commission an independent review to examine both the recent massive breach of federal court systems, and into a similar breach dating back to 2020. More here for Pros: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

With @jsaks.bsky.social: Joe Francescon, former DOD and NSC official under the first Trump administration, has been picked as the next deputy director of the NSA: www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

New for Pros: Networks of at least seven federal agencies were breached stemming from the Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability disclosed last month, according to two individuals familiar with the matter. Microsoft has blamed Chinese hackers for the breach. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Scoop: The State Department is abruptly terminating its big cyber-defense contract with Peraton, the main cyber contractor for State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. State plans to re-award the contract to GDIT, per two people familiar with the matter.

With @jsaks.bsky.social: While the federal judiciary is adopting new security measures, sources told us relevant committees on the Hill were briefed on the breach last month. One source briefed said the new incident is tied to a data breach of the federal courts dating back to 2020.

A new group of former government officials is designing a hypothetical U.S. Cyber Force, @martinmatishak.bsky.social reports, even as a congressionally chartered study continues to evaluate whether one should exist. therecord.media/panel-to-cre...

NEW: Trump's One Big Beautiful bill earmarked $1,000,000,000 (yep, a billion) over 4 years for "offensive cyber operations" for the Department of Defense. It's unclear exactly what that means, but could include zero-days, spyware, implants, infrastructure, etc. techcrunch.com/2025/07/14/t...

We’re taking @politico.com to arbitration this week for its unethical use of AI and we’re asking for your support! bit.ly/PENGuild

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), chair of the House Armed Services cyber committee, is retiring from Congress at the end of this term, he announced today. He has been vocally against cyber changes made by the Trump admin, such as the firing of Gen. Tim Haugh, and cuts to CISA.

I was happy to appear on two podcasts out today to discuss the cyber element of the conflict between Iran and Israel, and how the U.S. could be impacted. First, for an episode of iHeartPodcasts’s TechStuff: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Patrick Ware, a senior executive at the National Security Agency, has been named the new top civilian leader at U.S. Cyber Command. therecord.media/patrick-ware...

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has scheduled a hearing June 12 to consider both the noms of Sean Cairncross for National Cyber Director and Sean Plankey to head CISA — despite Plankey not testifying at today’s hearing: www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

We're proud our AI agreement has safeguards for journalists jobs-and company ethics, to allow AI use in a way that works for us, not against us. @politico.com already agreed that AI-generated content should be subject to the same standards as human-written articles. It needs to follow the contract

New from 404 Media: iconic hacking con HOPE has sold 50% fewer tickets this year, with event just a few months away. Organizers say it's due to U.S. immigration crackdown. A speaker already pulled out, said friends' devices seized at border. Will impact the event www.404media.co/hacker-confe...

DISA, the Pentagon agency focused on securing DOD networks, will lose 10% of its workforce as part of cuts to personnel and resignations, the agency’s top official told senators today, though the agency is seeking to rehire in some roles. For Pros: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

ICYMI last night: The State Department’s cyber and tech assistance fund is likely to be permanently shut down as part of the full agency reorganization currently being worked through, sources told me. For Pros: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Two brothers previously convicted of hacking - including installing a backdoor on a State Dept system while working for contractor - were hired after prison by software firm that processes gov records. In their new job they destroyed 30 databases and wiped 1,800+ files including IRS and GSA data...

Connolly was a leading House member focused on IT security issues, serving as the top Dem on the House Oversight panel’s cyber subcommittee. On a personal note, he was also a genuinely kind person who always gave time and thoughtful answers if I caught him in the Capitol hallways.

My colleague Dana Nickel and I wrote a deep dive looking at North Korea’s expanding scheme targeting tech companies, both in the U.S. and globally.

NEW: Spyware company NSO Group ordered to pay WhatsApp almost $170 million in damages for 2019 hacks of 1,400 WhatsApp accounts: www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Scoop: NIST's Computer Security Division — responsible for research & standards on cyber, privacy, cryptography, AI, etc. — has lost more than a dozen people, including its chief, to early retirements. www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/nist-cy... The departures could imperil key work.

"[T]he ability of this country to deal with cyber threats is being absolutely gutted for political reasons." @maggiemiller.bsky.social's dispatch from last week's #RSAC conference, as the cyber community reels from Trump's attacks: www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Trump's 2026 budget "eliminates CISA’s disinformation offices and programs that functioned as a hub in the Censorship Industrial Complex" and takes aim at USAID funding of misinformation research whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Dmitri Alperovitch, speaking w/ @maggiemiller.bsky.social about CSRB Salt Typhoon probe: "...one of the most consequential operations against the United States with the most impact to US national security that I've ever seen in my life, and I think could be one of the top in history."

This morning, CISA workforce was sent an “accountability survey” asking them to reply to 5 different options indicating their employment status. Then an immediate follow up went out, saying that message was actually a test of a personnel notification system

Excited to moderate a keynote panel with @dmitri.silverado.org this morning at RSAC Conference on geopolitics and cybersecurity. Find out more here: path.rsaconference.com/flow/rsac/us...

doge on classified networks w/ nuke secrets, report @gbrumfiel.bsky.social & @jennamclaughlin.bsky.social:

Never seen anything like the power outage hitting Spain/Portugal right now. Regions of Spain, Portugal, France hit. Mayor of Madrid tells residents to stay home if they can. Traffic lights out. ATMs, too. Airports dark. "The interruption was due to a problem in the European electricity grid"

New (for Pros): The State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy faces its policy issues and personnel being pulled into three separate offices under the new agency reorg. This means CDP would cede around half of employees to other offices: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

It’s the first day of the annual RSA Conference in San Francisco, and with some notable exceptions, federal officials are largely MIA. Read more from Dana Nickel and I in today’s Morning Cyber newsletter: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Jen Easterly speaks out on the cybersecurity industry’s silence as Trump goes after Krebs et al: “If we allow the quiet dismissal of dedicated public servants in our community to pass without comment — we’re not defending national security; we’re compromising it.” www.reuters.com/world/us/ex-...

Confirming the news around MITRE support for CVE lapsing tomorrow. A spokesperson for CISA said that while the “contract with the MITRE Corporation will lapse after April 16, we are urgently working to mitigate the impact and to maintain CVE services.” subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...