Trump’s ‘Grand Cyber Plan’ Coming Soon, Noem Tells Lawmakers

U.S. President Donald Trump will “shortly” reveal a “grand cyber plan,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers Tuesday, even as the administration seeks to cut the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency budget by $500 million.

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Noem recently criticized CISA, calling it a “Ministry of Truth” in reference to past efforts to counter misinformation. Her remarks came just days after the White House released a “skinny budget” summary that proposed a $500 million cut to the agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (see: White House Proposes $500 Million Cut to CISA).

Noem told a House appropriations subcommittee she is advising Trump on the contents of the cyber plan, though its release remains “his prerogative.” Her testimony came days after she outlined a series of broad cyber goals during a keynote at the RSAC conference in San Francisco – though national security experts have warned the federal government is losing ground against foreign cyberthreats due to recent purges of top cyber officials and mounting instability across key teams (see: US Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem Details Cyber Strategy).

“CISA’s mission is to hunt and harden, and to work with our state and local entities on critical infrastructure,” Noem said. She said she was alarmed to learn in briefings that senior agency officials had prior knowledge of the Volt and Salt Typhoon campaigns targeting the United States. But said they were unsure how to stop the Chinese-linked threat actors from successfully breaching U.S. digital infrastructure.

“It was alarming to me that we had the nation’s top cybersecurity agency that didn’t know how to stop the PRC and our enemies from coming in and hacking into our systems,” Noem told the subcommittee. “You think the pandemic was scary? Wait until the PRC and China comes in and shuts down our electricity.”

It remains unclear what new measures Trump’s cyber plan might introduce beyond the Biden administration’s final actions targeting China, including an executive order that officials described as a blueprint for countering Chinese cyberattacks. Despite political hurdles, that order stands out as one of the few late-term Biden actions not immediately revoked after Trump took office in January.

Noem suggested in her RSAC keynote that CISA would be more amenable to the private sector, telling the audience: “I want to work with you to make sure that we’re not becoming a burdensome regulation on our private sector, but that we’re working with you to make sure that we have products out there that truly do protect this nation’s future.”

Several CISA staffers who were granted anonymity to speak with Information Security Media Group in recent weeks have expressed growing concern over their job security and the nation’s broader cyber defense posture. Some warned that a potential cut of up to one-third of the agency’s workforce could severely hinder operations across all divisions, including efforts to protect federal networks and critical infrastructure (see: Planned CISA Cuts Face Political Delays and Growing Backlash).

“You said we should quote ‘just wait for the president’s grand cyber plan,'” Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-IL, said to Noem on Tuesday, referring to her conference keynote. “But you have not waited to erode the department’s cyber defense capabilities by removing resources and personnel and other components.”

“Meanwhile, bad actors are burrowing further into the critical infrastructure of this country,” the congresswoman added.