DISMANTLING DEFENSES: TRUMP 2.0 CYBER YEAR IN REVIEW

Summary from the TLDR InfoSec newsletter

The Trump administration systematically dismantled federal cybersecurity infrastructure: CISA lost 1/3 of its workforce and faces $491M budget cuts, the Cyber Safety Review Board was dissolved mid-investigation of Chinese telecom intrusions, and both NSA and Cyber Command have operated without leadership since April. DOGE accessed sensitive federal databases from SSA, DHS, OPM, and Treasury by circumventing security controls and audit mechanisms, with data exfiltration coinciding with Russian login attempts using valid DOGE credentials. Security professionals should prepare for degraded federal threat intelligence sharing after the elimination of CIPAC and MS-ISAC funding, reduced public-private coordination as agencies canceled meetings with infrastructure operators, and increased foreign intelligence recruitment of laid-off federal employees with security clearances.