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DHS guts cyber review board as Trump moves against ‘misuse of resources’
The Department of Homeland Security advisory committee was investigating a Chinese hack into U.S. telecommunications.
Updated: Jan. 21, 8:27 p.m. ET
The Department of Homeland Security has dismissed the members of its advisory committees—including the Cyber Safety Review Board, which investigates major cybersecurity incidents—as part of a Trump-administration drive to cut costs at the agency, according to three people familiar with the matter.
An internal Jan. 20 memo from DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman said, “In alignment with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) commitment to eliminating the misuse 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...Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS's strategic priorities. To outgoing advisory board members, you are welcome to reapply, thank you for your service."
NPR first reported the memo.
The terminations will likely delay a CSRB investigation into the Salt Typhoon hacks, which involved a wide-ranging Chinese infiltration into U.S. and foreign telecom providers. The hackers also targeted the communications of high-profile political individuals, including people tied to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump has vowed to dismiss government employees he deems disloyal to his political agenda or were associated with the Biden administration. He signed a series of executive orders on Monday, his first day in office, that he said would make government programs and spending less “wasteful.”
Among the people removed from CSRB was Chris Krebs, currently the chief intelligence and public policy officer at SentinelOne and the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Krebs was fired by Trump in 2020 after he said the results of that year’s presidential election were secure.
Krebs and spokespeople in DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement to Nextgov/FCW, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. — chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee — noted that CSRB members were appointed by the previous CISA director and that “as with any new administration, President Trump is assembling his team.”
“Given the CSRB is tasked with investigating significant cyber intrusions — such as the Microsoft Exchange incident my committee examined last year — President Trump’s new DHS leadership should have the opportunity to decide the future of the Board,” he added. “This could include appointing new members, reviewing its structure, or deciding if the Board is the best way to examine cyber intrusions.”
CSRB, which typically comprises private sector cyber experts and other national security officials, also investigated a separate major Chinese hack into the Microsoft email inboxes of major officials around the summer of 2023.
“This is common with any new administration. It happened in the past, and it will happen again in the future,” said Brian Harrell, a former DHS cybersecurity official in Trump’s first term. “The Trump administration is looking to safeguard the country and mitigate risks rapidly, and this requires ideological synergies."