Getty Images
News brief: Cybersecurity weakened by government shutdown
Check out the latest security news from the Informa TechTarget team.
The U.S. government shut down at 12:01 ET on Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. Hundreds of thousands of employees across multiple federal programs have been affected -- and the effects will ripple across the cybersecurity industry.
Since the current administration took office in January, cybersecurity agencies have been under the spotlight. For example, CISA has experienced workforce and budget cuts, and the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center has been shut down. The current shutdown will likely only exacerbate cybersecurity woes.
Government shutdowns -- and their cybersecurity impacts -- aren't unprecedented. During the 35-day 2018-19 shutdown, federal systems scans were paused, projects were delayed, NIST's online resources were unavailable, .gov domain certificates expired and contracts with third-party cybersecurity vendors were suspended, all of which left systems vulnerable to attack. The 16-day 2013 shutdown delayed the release of NIST's Cybersecurity Framework for Critical Infrastructure, and the agency's user facilities faced cancellations, resulting in lost income and research delays.
This week's featured articles examine the current government shutdown and provide an update on the upcoming CMMC assessment, the expiration of the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act and the loss of funding for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC).
Government shutdown threatens U.S. cybersecurity infrastructure
A prolonged U.S. federal government shutdown would disrupt important threat intelligence sharing between the private sector and government agencies.
Furloughs of CISA workers will limit critical functions, such as threat analysis and incident response. Federal agencies might also lose contractor support for vulnerability patching and monitoring. Cybercriminals are expected to exploit the situation using shutdown-themed phishing campaigns to target anxious furloughed workers seeking information about benefits and employment status.
CISA to retain only 35% of workforce during federal government shutdown
CISA will keep just 889 of its 2,540 employees working during the federal government shutdown, according to Department of Homeland Security guidance.
While CISA performs critical national security functions -- monitoring government networks and responding to cyberattacks -- the majority of its workforce is furloughed without pay until Congress passes new spending legislation.
Agency employees remain uncertain about specific roles and responsibilities during the shutdown, with leadership providing few answers during recent meetings. Officials warned that reduced staffing could create vulnerabilities, while past shutdowns have frozen vulnerability scans and delayed security projects. Some employees might leave permanently, further depleting an agency already affected by workforce reductions.
Defense contractors unprepared for CMMC requirements
Only 1% of U.S. defense contractors said they are fully prepared for the Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program launching Nov. 10, according to a survey of 300 companies from managed security service provider CyberSheath. This represents a decline in readiness confidence over two years.
Fewer than 50% of respondents said they have implemented required security controls and documentation, with only 29% having deployed secure backups, 22% implementing a patch management program and 27% using MFA.
The median preparedness level was 70%, despite the program's imminent enforcement. The CMMC program was created in 2019 to address concerns that defense firms weren't adequately protecting against foreign adversaries exploiting cybersecurity gaps.
Cybersecurity information sharing program expires
The 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act expired on Wednesday after Congress failed to reauthorize it, potentially crippling cybersecurity collaboration between the government and the private sector.
The law protected companies from antitrust liability and lawsuits when sharing cyberthreat data, enabling information exchange that helped agencies such as CISA track widespread cyberattack campaigns.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul blocked reauthorization over concerns about CISA's misinformation efforts, while House Democrats opposed Republican spending cuts.
Without legal protections, companies could reduce or halt threat sharing entirely, requiring more legal oversight and slowing response times. Industry leaders warned that this leaves U.S. networks exposed and vulnerable, giving attackers advantages while undermining a decade of trust-building between government and industry stakeholders.
Trump administration ends funding for critical cybersecurity resource
The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center lost its $48.5 million federal funding on Wednesday after the Trump administration deemed its services redundant, despite 21 years of providing vital cybersecurity support to state and local governments.
The decision affects tens of thousands of jurisdictions that relied on MS-ISAC's threat intelligence, incident response and security assessments. The Center expects to maintain services with retained paying members, but two-thirds of states and thousands of local governments are expected to lose access when membership fees increase significantly.
Supporters of the program warned this leaves critical infrastructure operators -- including schools, hospitals and utilities --vulnerable to nation-state and criminal hackers. MS-ISAC provided more than 90% of the state and local threat intelligence that CISA distributes, making its loss a significant blow to national cybersecurity defense capabilities.
Read the full story by Eric Geller on Cybersecurity Dive.
Editor's note: An editor used AI tools to aid in the generation of this news brief. Our expert editors always review and edit content before publishing.
Sharon Shea is executive editor of Informa TechTarget's SearchSecurity site.
