Donald Trump's Cybersecurity Advisors Resign as a Group Over 'Insufficient Attention' to Growing Threats
Advisory panels supporting Donald Trump's administration continue to bleed numbers as several cyber security advisors dropped out from their panel as a group. In a resignation letter, the experts have cited the president's uncaring attitude towards cyber threats as a big part of the reasons for their withdrawal.
The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) lost eight of its 28 members after they resigned on Monday, Aug. 21, according to Defense One. The NIAC advises the Homeland Security on issues related to cyber security, and the council will now have to do so with a quarter of their experts gone after the White House acknowledged the resignations on Tuesday, Aug. 22.
In their group resignation letter, the disgruntled members cited several reasons for their leaving the advisory council. First, among these reasons is the failure of the current administration to pay adequate attention to national security matters as they pertain to NIAC's mandate, including issues on cyber security, as detailed in the message as obtained by NextGov.
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"You have given insufficient attention to the growing threats to the cybersecurity of the critical systems upon which all Americans depend, including those impacting the systems supporting our democratic election process," the letter stated.
The message also cited the administration's failure to denounce "the intolerance and violence of hate groups," pertaining to the violence in Charlottesville. The letter also mentioned the recent decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, along with the other moves that allegedly show a disregard for "the pressing threat of climate change to our critical infrastructure."
The departures came about just before the panel was due to hold a quarterly meeting. After the resignations, the advisory group has lost several of its officials instated during Barack Obama's term, including White House Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil and Office of Science and Technology Policy Chief of Staff Cristin Dorgelo.
White House Council on Environmental Quality Managing Director Christy Goldfuss, another Obama-era member, is off the panel as well, as all eight names got stricken off the Homeland Security's NIAC members page.
