A retired top cybersecurity official from the National Security Agency warned a key House panel that widespread cuts to federal probationary workers could severely harm the U.S.’s ability to counter threats from China and other cyber adversaries.
“I want to raise my grave concerns that the aggressive threats to cut U.S. government probationary employees will have a devastating effect on the cybersecurity and our national security,” Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at the NSA, said in testimony Wednesday before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Joyce warned that even if certain positions are not formally eliminated, the uncertainty created by such a work environment will lead to critical talent leaving federal agencies for the private sector.
He noted that the unique talents of many of these employees is necessary to combat adversaries that will continue to test U.S. resilience.
The Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to cut government spending by identifying alleged fraud and waste inside federal agencies. Many of these spending cuts involve the elimination of probationary employees.
CISA job cuts
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency saw about 130 positions cut in mid-February as part of a larger round of about 400 cuts at the Department of Homeland Security, of which CISA is a part.
DHS officials said the cuts at the department involved non-mission critical probationary workers and would save about $50 million.
Emma Stewart, chief power grid scientist, national and homeland security at Idaho National Laboratory, concurred with Joyce, noting the critical role CISA plays in alerting allies and other organizations about how to patch security vulnerabilities and otherwise respond to malicious cyber activity.
“It’s a critical function and something that CISA’s made real strides in over the last several years,” Stewart said.
The Trump administration in January dismantled the Cyber Safety Review Board, which was investigating hacks linked to Salt Typhoon, a China-backed threat group linked to the hacks of major U.S. telecom firms.
