CISA to cease participation at RSAC conference after Biden-era cyber leader named CEO
Jen Easterly, the former CISA director under President Joe Biden, was announced as the CEO of RSAC Conference last Thursday. Hours after the announcement, several top Trump administration cyber officials discussed plans to cancel their attendance, Nextgov/FCW first reported.
“CISA has reviewed and determined that we will not participate in the RSA Conference since we regularly review all stakeholder engagements, to ensure maximum impact and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” agency spokesperson Marci McCarthy said in a Friday statement.
“Since the beginning of this administration, CISA has made significant progress in returning to our statutory, core mission and focusing on President [Donald] Trump’s policies for maximum security for all Americans,” she said.
A conference spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
RSAC, which takes place annually in San Francisco, is one of the world’s largest cybersecurity forums, and has long been hailed as a convening hub for cyber officials and private sector firms vying for business with the government. It also brings together many international cyber officials who frequently meet behind the scenes with American counterparts to discuss overseas matters.
Easterly became a target of Trump ally and far-right activist Laura Loomer last year, when Loomer flagged Easterly’s plans to return to West Point as the Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in its Department of Social Sciences. The decision was soon reversed by the Army.
CISA, the nation’s main civilian cyberdefense office, has undergone major workforce shifts since early last year, as the Department of Homeland Security — its parent agency — has sought to refocus the agency back to its “core mission” amid past GOP misgivings about its activities during the Biden administration, namely that the agency engaged in censorship of Americans’ free speech.
The move underscores the Trump administration’s effort to tightly police how current officials engage with industry events tied to former senior leaders, especially those in the crosshairs of the current White House.
In an interview with WIRED about her appointment as CEO, Easterly said that cybersecurity “is not a political endeavor, RSAC is certainly not a political organization, and I am not a political person. I am a lifelong independent.”
The move is sure to change scheduling plans for public panels and other behind-the-scenes engagements at the conference site. As of Friday evening, Chris Butera, CISA’s acting deputy head of cybersecurity, and Clayton Romans, the associate director of the CISA-led Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, were listed as attendees on the conference page.
This week, Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee pressed CISA’s acting director with questions on workforce reductions and internal developments inside the cyberdefense office in a hearing that examined the agency’s direction under the second Trump administration.
FBI and NSA officials were listed in earlier queries of the RSAC conference agenda, but are no longer seen on the schedule. Nextgov/FCW has asked both agencies for comment.
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