CybersecurityAssessing President Trump’s Legacy of Cyber Confusion
After Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), was fired by President Trump for releasing a statement claiming, “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” Donald Trump’s campaign lawyer, Joe diGenova countered with “that guy [Krebs] is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.” This is but one example of the dangerous messaging that emerged from the White House following the election, contradicting election experts and evidence. President Trump’s legacy on cybersecurity will go down in a miasma of confusion and delay.
Things did not end well for the Trump’s administration’s cybersecurity efforts. After Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), was fired by President Trump for releasing a statement claiming, “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” Krebs immediately went on 60 Minutes and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to take a victory lap after his agency’s solid performance in monitoring the election.
Donald Trump’s campaign lawyer, Joe diGenova countered with “that guy [Krebs] is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.” This is but one example of the dangerous messaging that emerged from the White House following the election, contradicting election experts and evidence. President Trump’s legacy on cybersecurity will go down in a miasma of confusion and delay.
This December, President Trump decided one his final stands in government would be to demand under the threat of veto that the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual bill that funds the defense establishment, should include a provision eliminating section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 is the oft misunderstood and mythologized dispensation for internet platforms to avoid moderating content on their platforms. President Trump tweeted, “Section 230, which is a liability shield gift from the U.S. to ‘Big Tech’ (the only companies in America that have it – corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity.”
Section 230 is clearly a debatable issue. What is not debatable, however, is that “230 has nothing to do with the military,” as Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Republication chair of the Senate Armed Service Committee quickly remarked. With this act, President Trump ends 2020 and his term with continued disarray surrounding cybersecurity issues, consistent with an overall pattern of hubris and indifference that has positioned the country no safer than it was in 2016.
