How Trump’s Cyber Cuts Dismantle Federal Information Sharing

National security and cybersecurity experts say major Trump administration cuts to federal cybersecurity funding and mass layoffs that hit key cyber teams have sharply undercut information sharing between the public and private sectors in recent months – at a time when critical infrastructure across the United States faces escalating threats.

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Federal cybersecurity information sharing has suffered significant setbacks since President Donald Trump took office in January. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has cut nearly one-third of its workforce, leading to a marked drop in threat sharing. The White House ordered cybersecurity risk management shift from the federal government to often underfunded state and local agencies, and the administration axed funding for national cybersecurity hubs that deliver real-time threat intelligence to states and municipalities.

Budget Cuts Weaken Public-Private Information Sharing

Together, experts tell Information Security Media Group these moves have weakened coordination across sectors. Staff at information sharing and analysis centers report receiving far less threat data from CISA and the FBI, while key federal efforts including the National Vulnerability Database, which helps track and manage software flaws, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology face budget cuts, said Michael Daniel, president and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance.

“The budget cuts, personnel reductions and other policy changes have decreased the volume and frequency of CISA’s information sharing activities in both formal and informal channels,” Daniel told ISMG. While sector-specific ISACs still share information, threat sharing efforts tied to federal funding – such as the Multi-State ISAC, which supports state and local governments – “have been negatively affected,” he said (see: CISA Defunds Threat-Sharing Hubs for States and Elections).

One former CISA staffer who recently accepted the administration’s deferred resignation offer told ISMG the agency’s information-sharing efforts “were among the first to take a hit” from the administration’s cuts, with many feeling pressured into silence.

“The marching orders were unclear from day one,” said the ex-staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Teams across CISA feared they might be punished by political leaders for continuing to publicize exploits that could affect federal networks or for issuing advisories that might make the government look “weak” in cyberspace.

“The uncertainty made it pretty much impossible to do anything,” the ex-staffer added. “You can’t be proactive with a ‘wait-and-see’ mindset.”

Future Cuts Threaten Threat-Sharing Programs

Analysts have also warned that cuts to cyber staff across federal agencies and risks to initiatives including the National Vulnerability Database and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program could harm cybersecurity far beyond U.S. borders. The CVE program is dealing with backlogs and a recent threat to shut down funding over a federal contracting issue. Failure of the CVE Program “would have wide impacts on vulnerability management efficiency and effectiveness globally,” said John Banghart, senior director for cybersecurity services at Venable and a key architect of the Obama administration’s cybersecurity policy as a former director for federal cybersecurity for the National Security Council.

“While NIST has made some progress by identifying new resources and streamlining internal processes, that backlog continues to grow and the number of submitted CVEs is only expected to increase this year and next,” Banghart told ISMG. “The vulnerability management community globally has become very concerned about the future of the CVE program and the wide array of software and databases, like the NVD, that rely on it.”

Sweeping cuts have also continued across agencies including the State Department, which announced on Friday it is laying off 1,350 employees across divisions, including 1,107 civil services workers and 246 foreign service employees. Current and recent former State Department staffers told ISMG in recent weeks the pending cuts severely threaten the department’s ability to coordinate with global partners and share threat information while assisting in major international developments, including the U.S.-led “Operation Midnight Hammer,” targeting multiple Iranian nuclear sites in June (see: US Cyber Diplomacy at Risk Amid State Department Shakeup.

The Supreme Court also paved the way for the administration to continue carrying out mass firings at federal agencies Tuesday when it lifted a lower court’s ruling that prevented the president from firing tens of thousands of federal employees at 21 federal agencies – many of which include cybersecurity and information technology divisions that could undergo sharp cutbacks that hinder information sharing with the private sector, experts warned.

Lack of Federal Transparency?

Private sector analysts say information sharing and public-private coordination around cybersecurity has slowed since Trump took office. While programs like NVD and CVE have faced consistent challenges over the course of multiple administrations, the situation has worsened over the past year, said Neil Carpenter, security strategist at the application security firm Minimus.

“The lack of transparency is making it difficult for everybody in the industry to adapt and plan,” Carpenter told ISMG, noting that “inconsistent communication and plans since have resulted in a fracturing of the CVE ecosystem.”

“There needs to be a non-partisan, cross-party commitment to ensuring these public vulnerability disclosure resources are funded and managed,” he added.

Other threats to federal information sharing efforts are also on the horizon, including the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to disband its Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council to a pivotal cybersecurity law that is just a few dozen working congressional days from expiring. If that happens, experts say private sector companies would have to scramble to reassess the legal basis for information sharing agreements formed over the past decade (see: Key Cyber Law’s Lapse Could Mute Threat Sharing Nationwide).

“Some of these entities will have to stop sharing information altogether,” Ari Schwartz, a former top cybersecurity official in the Obama White House, told ISMG in June. “This outcome will clearly make us less secure.”

The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment.