Trump orders probe and revokes clearance of ex-CISA director Chris Krebs
Cyber industry cowed into silence
US federal investigators have been directed to investigate former CISA director Chris Krebs, over alleged censorship while in office.
The directive, issued in a memorandum signed by President Trump on 9th April, accuses Krebs of abusing his government authority to suppress free speech and directs the Department of Justice to examine his actions during his tenure at CISA.
The order also calls for the revocation of Krebs’ security clearance and that of individuals associated with SentinelOne, the cybersecurity firm where he now works.
In a statement to The Register, SentinelOne said, "we will actively cooperate in any review of security clearances held by any of our personnel – currently less than 10 employees overall," adding the action would not impact its business in any way.
Trump’s actions against the firm, which had nothing to do with Krebs’ actions in office, are both unprecedented and petty.
The memorandum further alleges that Krebs engaged in “censorship of disfavoured speech” related to the 2020 presidential election – meaning, he said openly that Trump lost and there was no outside interference – and the COVID-19 pandemic. It also claims that under Krebs’ leadership, CISA “covertly worked to blind the American public” to controversies surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop and dismissed concerns about vulnerabilities in voting machines.
There is a grain of truth here, in that the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop was not widely reported at the time, but that was because media outlets couldn’t verify the chain of custody and so had doubts about the story. CISA was not involved.
Krebs, who led CISA under the Trump administration before being dismissed in 2020, has consistently defended the agency’s efforts to protect election infrastructure. He had publicly rejected claims of widespread election misconduct following the 2020 vote, a stance that contradicted Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.
Following his electoral defeat, Trump launched multiple lawsuits challenging the results in key states, though the courts found no evidence of fraud sufficient to overturn the outcome.
First they came for the cyber experts, and I did not speak up
This investigation order has drawn attention from parts of the cybersecurity community, notably within CISA itself.
“Every day feels somehow more bizarre than the last. It is incredibly difficult to focus on our mission,” one employee said to NBC News.
Marcus Hutchins, the British man who shut down WannaCry in 2017, said that Trump’s actions had turned the USA into “basically a fascist dictatorship.”
However, the rest of the security industry stayed silent, rather than choosing solidarity with SentinelOne.
Speaking to Reuters, Katie Moussouris, founder of Luta Security, said, “"I don't think it's feasible for cybersecurity companies to have a broader response on this.
“The risk is just too high.”
More than thirty other businesses failed to respond to Reuters. Only one, the Cyber Threat Alliance, shared a comment. President Michael Daniel said, “Targeting a company because the president does not like someone in the company is an example of the very weaponisation of the federal government the memo claims to be combating.”
Another cyber executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "If they are willing to crush Krebs, what do you think they'll do to me or others like me?”
Trump's latest move adds to a growing list of punitive executive actions involving former government officials since his return to the Oval Office. In March, he issued an executive order revoking the security clearances of numerous high-profile figures, including Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.