en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is facing rebuilding challenges after losing about one-third of its employees. Meanwhile, the country is confronting escalating foreign cyber threats, with attacks targeting critical infrastructure from telecommunications networks to energy systems.
Due to significant layoffs by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), CISA has lost approximately one-third of its staff since early 2025. Democratic Senator Mark Warner told Broadband Breakfast that those laid off include senior federal employees with extensive experience in protecting cyberspace and critical infrastructure, as well as members of CISA's red team, experts responsible for simulating cyberattacks to identify vulnerabilities.
In terms of cyber threats, in August 2025, CISA, along with the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), issued a joint warning that "Salt Typhoon" hackers, linked to the Chinese government, had infiltrated U.S. telecommunications networks. Senator Gary Peters, the senior Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated that leaving CISA without personnel, resources, and leadership in such a high-risk environment endangers U.S. homeland security.
CISA's conflict with President Trump has a long history. In 2020, Trump fired the agency's first director, Christopher Krebs, for refuting claims that the presidential election was stolen. In June 2026, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats requested information on CISA's current election security measures, expressing concerns that the willingness of election officials to cooperate with federal agencies might be affected by political scrutiny.
The agency is now shifting toward rebuilding. Acting Director Nick Andersen announced plans to hire approximately 300 "mission-critical personnel." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested during a congressional hearing that the agency might need around 2,800 staff. The rebuilding tasks include implementing President Trump's latest cybersecurity executive order and establishing a system to assess security risks of advanced artificial intelligence models.
However, rebuilding faces challenges in attracting talent. Richard Forno, deputy director of the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, told Broadband Breakfast that the way federal leadership has treated employees over the past year makes the federal government an unattractive destination for potential cybersecurity professionals. This issue extends to multiple agencies, including layoffs at NIST, downsizing at the FCC, and a reduction of over 50% of staff at the CHIPS office.
DOGE supporters claim the layoffs have saved taxpayers over $215 billion, but Dominik Lett, a budget analyst at the Cato Institute, noted that errors and inconsistencies in DOGE's public accounts make verification difficult. Greg Barbaccia, Federal Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), stated that DOGE's centralized structure has largely been dismantled.
For CISA, the coming year will determine whether the agency can rebuild sufficient capacity to address these challenges.
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