The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently made a significant decision to terminate memberships at the Cyber Safety Review Board and all other DHS advisory committees, citing a need to cut down on the misuse of department resources. Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman released a memo on Jan. 20 announcing the immediate termination of all current advisory committee memberships as part of the department’s commitment to prioritizing national security and eliminating resource misuse.
Huffman emphasized that future committee activities will be solely focused on advancing the critical mission of protecting the homeland and supporting DHS’s strategic priorities. He also extended gratitude to outgoing advisory board members and invited them to reapply in the future. While President Donald Trump was not directly mentioned in Huffman’s memo, the references to the “misuse” of government resources align with Trump’s efforts to eliminate perceived waste in government spending.
The Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) was initiated by former President Joe Biden in 2021 with the purpose of reviewing significant cybersecurity incidents and reporting issues. During its tenure, the CSRB issued three major reports, including one dedicated to the Log4j vulnerabilities in December 2021, another covering the cybercriminal group Lapsus$ known for breaches at major technology companies, and a high-profile report on the 2023 incident involving the breach of Microsoft by the Chinese state-sponsored threat group Storm-0558.
The CSRB’s report on the Microsoft breach, which revealed a series of security failures at Microsoft leading to the theft of sensitive information, received praise from industry leaders and prompted Microsoft to establish the Secure Future Initiative to prioritize security over other business interests. However, Microsoft did not respond to requests for comments on the CSRB’s termination at the time of reporting.
The CSRB was actively investigating the activities of Salt Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor known for hacking major telecom companies as part of an espionage campaign. The board’s membership was previously determined by the director of CISA, who was Jen Easterly until her resignation on Jan. 20. Notable members included Chris Krebs, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Jerry Davis, all experts in the cybersecurity field.
During a recent testimony, Trump’s nominee for DHS secretary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, expressed a desire to refocus CISA’s mission on protecting critical infrastructure by making the agency smaller. This sentiment was echoed in a statement attributed to a senior DHS official, emphasizing the department’s zero-tolerance policy towards advisory committees attempting to undermine national security, the President’s agenda, or the constitutional rights of Americans.
Overall, the termination of memberships in advisory committees by the Department of Homeland Security reflects a strategic shift towards safeguarding national security interests and optimizing the use of resources in alignment with the administration’s priorities. The decision highlights the ongoing efforts to streamline operations and enhance cybersecurity measures to address evolving threats in the digital landscape.