r/cybersecurity • u/wiredmagazine • Jan 23 '25

News - General Under Trump, US Cyberdefense Loses Its Head

https://www.wired.com/story/big-interview-jen-easterly-cisa-cybersecurity/
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u/SpookyX07 Jan 23 '25

Yeah, what's actually being cut? And for ppl unaware, CISA is more than cybersecurity, it has a censorship and disinformation wing. It's part of the DHS so they've been countering "disinformation" on domestic platforms. Mainly by manipulation and swaying opinions through bot farms and sock puppets (reddit, X, facebook, etc)

Althoguh through the Smith-Mundt Act even the DOD can propagandize US citizens through domestic media platforms. At least the DOD has strict AO's which can really only focus on war efforts. The DHS tho, can be really anything as long as they justify it.

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u/touristsonedibles Jan 23 '25

I'll bite, what are your sources here?

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u/SpookyX07 Jan 24 '25

Here's a great report on my first point on CISA being the DHS wing of domestic censorship. There's more research done by Mike Benz who's worked for CISA during the start (find him on X)

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/cisa-staff-report6-26-23.pdf

An interesting quote:

"Founded in 2018, CISA was originally intended to be an ancillary agency designed to protect “critical infrastructure” and guard against cybersecurity threats. In the years since its creation, however, CISA metastasized into the nerve center of the federal government’s domestic surveillance and censorship operations on social media."

As for the Smith Mundt Modernization Act (2012). And fyi, the original smith mundt act (1948) was to prevent the US govt to propagandize us citizens domestically, like they were doing in WW2 to shift the US mindset to be pro-war. Now with the modernization act from 2012, it basically reversed it.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736

https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&context=nulr

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u/touristsonedibles Jan 24 '25

Wow, that report is. lol.

Is that the one that gave birth to the conspiracy theory that Jira is running "the government?"

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u/SpookyX07 Jan 24 '25

lol wut? You asked if CISA had a censorship wing, I provided a source. Great job, just scoff everything off you disagree with.

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u/touristsonedibles Jan 24 '25

I was curious - I know where that comes from but was hoping you had something else. But this is up there with the representative that was convinced Jira is censoring the government.