“Unlike other Administrations, the Trump Administration will not tinker at the edges and apply partial measures and ambiguous strategies that neglect the growing number and severity of cyber threats,” the strategy reads.
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
The National Cyber Strategy has arrived:
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
"'We’re going from one person who didn’t care about cyber to someone who cares about it even less, if that’s possible,' a former CISA official told Nextgov/FCW, referring to Mullin’s relative lack of work in cyber policymaking." www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
"There seem to be positive reflections coming from folks that have worked with [Mullin], and the legislative branch seems to be reacting positively to the news," said a current DHS official.
"The few water cooler chats I've had with folks — no one has heard of him, period. So no one has an idea of how it’ll impact CISA," one cyber agency employee told me.
NEW: Markwayne Mullin's appointment to lead DHS is drawing mixed reactions inside CISA and the department. For some, it's a sign of relief, but others have not heard of him, or are aware of any cyber policy work his office has done.
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
WaPo: “Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major U.S. adversary is participating — even indirectly — in the war…”
wapo.st/3OUfaJg
David DiMolfetta
“Initial reporting tied the incident to the FBI’s wiretap systems, which are used to lawfully surveil suspected criminals and spies.” www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
Senate invokes first procedural step for NSA and Cyber Command nominee Josh Rudd.
Recall Sen. Wyden plans to hold the nomination. A hold cannot stop a nomination outright but can delay votes.
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
House Homeland Chair Garbarino's statement on Noem's DHS departure:
POTUS: Sen. Markwayne Mullin is new DHS secretary effective March 31. Kristi Noem out and being moved to new Western Hemisphere “security initiative”
In typical procedures, if Mullin is a permanent replacement, then he’d have to be Senate-confirmed.
Trump has quietly asked Hill Republicans if he should fire Noem, the latest sign of her tenuous standing inside the West Wing, @bresreports.bsky.social @andrewdesiderio.bsky.social @jakesherman.bsky.social report. punchbowl.news/article/bord...
Plankey said he “is focused on his CISA nomination” and “prepared to lead the nation’s cyber defense agency to protect the federal civilian networks and our nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyber attacks.”
EXCLUSIVE: CISA director nominee Sean Plankey told stakeholders he left Coast Guard to show Sen. Rick Scott he’s no longer involved in shipbuilding contract work and to stave off another hold on his confirmation. Plankey confirmed this to Nextgov/FCW:
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
State and local governments and some crucial technology infrastructure are among the key retaliatory targets as hostilities escalate in the Middle East, my colleague @christeale.bsky.social reports:
www.route-fifty.com/cybersecurit...
NEW: CISA director nominee Sean Plankey is expected to soon leave DHS, where he’s been serving in an advisory role at Coast Guard, multiple people familiar tell @tomnovelly.bsky.social and me. He is still the expected nominee to lead the cyber agency:
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
U.S. exploits have recently been distributed. Peter Williams, a former employee of L3Harris-owned Trenchant, pleaded guilty in October to selling at least eight of the company’s exploits to a Russian broker believed to be known as Operation Zero ->
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/forme...
The toolkit, dubbed Coruna, contains multiple exploits capable of surreptitiously compromising Apple devices running older versions of iOS.
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
A powerful iPhone hacking toolkit that may have originated as a U.S.-built capability has surfaced in the hands of foreign espionage actors and financially motivated criminal groups, Google and iVerify say:
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
David DiMolfetta
"Analysts say organizations should remain vigilant, though early indications show Iran-linked hackers have overstated their success." www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit... @ddimolfetta.bsky.social
Attacks on GPS Spike Amid US and Israeli War on Iran
www.wired.com/story/gps-at...
DHS Sec. Noem in statement to us: “I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.”
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
NEW: Iran-linked hackers are stepping up digital reconnaissance and preparing for potentially disruptive activity, cyber intelligence firms warn.
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...
UPDATE - Statement per DOD: “The command did not issue messages to US service members to turn off location services on their electronic devices and did not issue messages that applications had been compromised.”
Deleted my earlier posts on account of this supposed DOD memo being possibly assessed as fake, so that we don’t spread false info. We have reached DOD and Cyber Command and will update when we have more.
UPDATE: This is being assessed as a potential hoax, a state official tells me. The supposed memo has been circulated widely among service member group chats and social media pages, but they can’t seem to determine its origin.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Garbarino on Iran cyber risks: “As these threats grow, CISA needs long-term funding … and a Senate-confirmed director. Any further delays will continue to put our security at risk in and out of cyberspace.”
Iran has a history of responding to overseas ops with cyber activity. Meanwhile, CISA is facing reduced staffing amid a DHS funding lapse. “This is a bad time for Washington’s cyber agency to be operating with limited staff,” FDD's Annie Fixler tells me:
www.defenseone.com/threats/2026...
NEW -> Coordinated US–Israel strikes on Iran are spotlighting how Washington integrates offensive cyber into military operations — and whether federal agencies are ready for retaliation at home:
www.defenseone.com/threats/2026...
Senior DHS official said Gottumukkala “has done a remarkable job in a thankless task of helping reform CISA back to its core statutory mission” and that “he will continue his work to save taxpayer money”
