Sean Cairncross was confirmed by the Senate as national cyber director with a vote of 59-35. This appointment positions Cairncross as the first Senate-approved cybersecurity official of President Trump’s second term. His role includes overseeing cybersecurity efforts, developing national policies, and advising the president on cyber issues. Despite concerns over his lack of direct technical experience in cybersecurity, he emphasized his engagements with various sectors in the cyber community during the confirmation process. Skepticism was voiced by some Democratic lawmakers regarding staffing cuts in cyber security roles under the current administration.
"Just be honest about it. You can't say you care about an increasing and more sophisticated set of attacks while cutting the very people who help defend against those attacks," Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. told Cairncross at the time. "You're going to be the guy. If we have our cyber 9/11, you're going to be the guy who's sitting there saying, 'Holy crap, we just cut all this money.'"
Cairncross does not have direct cybersecurity policy experience, but said his past roles involved engagements with different parts of the U.S. cyber community. "Sure, senator, it's true. I don't have a technical background in cyber," he told committee Ranking Member Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Collection
[
|
...
]