All eyes on the cyber bench for Trump 2.0
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Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios; Photo: Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images
As the Trump transition gets underway, the cybersecurity industry is anxiously wondering whether key agencies will get new assignments and who will be tapped for top government positions.
Why it matters: Those who have President-elect Donald Trump's ear in the White House and the leaders of top cybersecurity agencies set the tone for how the United States responds to nation-state cyberattacks and how it dictates new security requirements for companies.
The big picture: Expect the new Trump administration to return to the White House with intentions of picking up on cyber policy where it left off in 2020, an industry source close to the transition told Axios.
- This likely means reimagining the dynamic among the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), and the White House's National Security Council (NSC), which many have said is confusing and has too much overlap, Brandon Pugh, policy director for cyber and emerging threats at the R Street Institute, told Axios.
- CISA will likely stay intact and remain under the Department of Homeland Security, according to the industry source. But that could change as the new administration conducts a broader review of DHS's operations.
Between the lines: Trump is likely pulling from a mix of former officials from his first administration, staffers at key Senate and House offices, and experts at prominent think tanks, the industry source said.
- Some of these people are already pushing for roles in the NSC and leading either CISA or the ONCD.
Reality check: Predicting anything the president-elect will do is notoriously difficult.
- Barring any cyberattacks with a national impact — like the SolarWinds attack that unfolded during the Biden transition — most of these roles will be a second- or third-tier priority for the transition team.
The intrigue: Trump's first administration drew a hard line against China — especially as it set up the dominos for a ban on TikTok.
- Recent reports of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign targeting officials' phones — include those belonging to Trump, VP-elect JD Vance and many of Trump's advisers — will likely spur the new administration to pursue an even more aggressive trade agenda.
Zoom in: New cyber regulations that have worried the business community aren't expected to be as tightly enforced as they had been under the Biden administration, Michael Bahar, a lawyer and co-lead of Eversheds Sutherland's global cybersecurity and data privacy practice, told Axios.
- This includes cyber incident reporting rules at both CISA and the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Bahar, a former White House official and Capitol Hill staffer.
The other side: A new administration doesn't mean all of the Democrats' top cyber policy items are dead in the water.
- Filling gaps in the cyber workforce, for instance, is something that both urban areas and rural communities care about, Nicole Tisdale, a former Capitol Hill and White House staffer, told Axios.
- "The economy is a kitchen-table issue, and we have really good jobs in cybersecurity," said Tisdale, who now runs Advocacy Blueprints, a consulting firm that helps smaller organizations navigate Washington.
- Efforts seen during both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration to keep U.S. data away from foreign adversaries are also likely to carry over, experts said.
What we're watching: Those who land positions on the transition's agency-review teams — which study how an agency was run and create a shortlist of nominees — will provide another hint of Trump's thinking about cybersecurity.
If you are angling for one of the top cyber roles or are being considered for these agency reviews teams, get in touch on Signal: @SamSabin.01
