Category Archives: John Bolton

Trump chairs election-security meeting as Democrats call for strategy

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President Donald Trump chaired an election-security meeting Friday afternoon with his top advisers as Democrats called on the White House to delineate a clear strategy to counter foreign attempts to meddle in the U.S. electoral process. The National Security Council meeting “addressed threats posed to our elections from malign foreign actors, efforts underway to provide cybersecurity assistance to state and local authorities, and actions to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our political and electoral processes,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher Wray were among the officials at the meeting, according to the White House. “The president has made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation-state or other malicious actors,” Sanders […]

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Bolton reshuffle continues: Trump selects Coast Guard official as new homeland security adviser

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The Trump administration has picked Coast Guard Rear Adm. Douglas Fears as its new homeland security adviser, the White House announced Friday. Fears, with over 30 years of service in the Coast Guard, will replace Tom Bossert, who departed the White House two months ago at the request of incoming national security adviser John Bolton. “Doug Fears brings more than three decades of experience across a range of vital homeland security areas including counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and disaster response to the NSC,” Bolton said in a White House statement. “Doug will serve as the president’s homeland security adviser and my point person on an array of vital tasks ranging from overseeing the NSC Cybersecurity Directorate to coordinating the interagency efforts during disaster response.” An alumnus of the U.S. Naval War College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Harvard, Fears has been a special assistant to the president and senior director for resilience policy at […]

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Senators urge John Bolton to reinstate NSC cyber position

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Nineteen Democratic senators called on the Trump administration to reinstate the White House’s top cybersecurity post, which it removed earlier this month. The group, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote a letter urging National Security Adviser John Bolton to reconsider his decision to eliminate the cybersecurity coordinator position, which was housed in the National Security Council (NSC). The senators expressed concern that eliminating the role “will lead to a lack of unified focus against cyber threats.” “Our country’s cybersecurity should be a top priority,” the senators wrote. “Therefore, it is critically important that the U.S. government present a unified front in defending against cyberattacks.” The senators highlighted Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election and cited Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who testified earlier this year that “Russia will conduct bolder and more disruptive cyber operations during the next year.” “Eliminating the Cybersecurity Coordinator role keeps us from presenting that unified front and […]

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With White House coordinator gone, DHS official calls for U.S. leadership on cybersecurity

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In the wake of the White House’s decision to eliminate its top cybersecurity position, a Department of Homeland Security official has called on the U.S. government to robustly engage on cyber policy issues on the world stage. The Trump administration should have a “strong voice” at internet standards bodies and other global forums, working with allies and non-allies alike, said Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for DHS’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications. “We have to figure out a way to continue to work together to ensure that the stability of the global system is maintained,” Manfra said Tuesday at the Security Through Innovation Summit, presented by McAfee and produced by CyberScoop. Manfra did not mention the recently-nixed White House cybersecurity coordinator in her remarks, but that position has traditionally been key to the United States’ international cybersecurity work. At a February conference in Germany, for example, then-White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob […]

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Lawmakers introduce bill to save top White House cyber job after Bolton eliminated it

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House Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation to codify a top cybersecurity position at the White House following National Security Adviser John Bolton’s decision to eliminate the role. The bill from Democratic Reps. Jim Langevin, R.I., and Ted Lieu, Calif., would establish a National Office for Cyberspace in the Executive Office of the President – and a Senate-confirmed head of that office. That official would synchronize cybersecurity policy across agencies in much the same way that White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce was doing until he stepped down last week. Against the backdrop of Joyce’s decision to leave the coordinator role and return to the National Security Agency, a power struggle over cybersecurity leadership at the National Security Council has ensued. Bolton ultimately decided to scrap the coordinator role. An aide to Bolton emailed NSC staff on Tuesday saying the move would help cut “another layer of bureaucracy.” Politico was first to report on Bolton’s […]

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Bolton eliminates White House Cybersecurity Coordinator position

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The National Security Council has officially decided to eliminate the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator role, a current U.S. official told CyberScoop. Until today, the position had an important role in synchronizing cybersecurity efforts across the federal government, including managing the execution of defensive and offensive cyber operations conducted by the Pentagon. The position was first created under the George W. Bush administration. The move follows the departure of former coordinator Rob Joyce on Friday. Joyce’s planned departure followed a 14-month stint where he pioneered the creation of several new cybersecurity policies and helped shed light on a secretive government disclosure framework, known as the Vulnerabilities Equities Process. The news was first reported by Politico and independently confirmed by CyberScoop. An email sent Tuesday to NSC staffers by an aide of national security adviser John Bolton described that the decision would help cut “another layer of bureaucracy.” The NSC currently employs […]

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A cybersecurity power struggle is brewing at the National Security Council

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Senior government officials are worried about the outcome of an ongoing power struggle inside the National Security Council that will shape the fate of the nation’s cybersecurity posture. The arrival of newly appointed national security adviser John Bolton has prompted an attempted power grab by a member of the National Security Council, four current officials with knowledge of the matter told CyberScoop. This effort is causing anxiety across senior levels of government about the future of the cybersecurity coordinator role at the White House — a position that oversees a wide array of programs, including the management and coordination of defensive and offensive cyber-operations. Earlier this week, current Cybersecurity Coordinator Rob Joyce announced his intention to leave the position and return to the National Security Agency, where he spent more than two decades. He will remain in the White House position for another month to help with the transition process. The sources, who spoke […]

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Bolton will lead charge to replace cybersecurity coordinator, DHS Secretary says

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Newly appointed national security adviser John Bolton will lead the charge in finding a replacement for Cybersecurity Coordinator Rob Joyce, according to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. Nielsen spoke to a small group of reporters Monday ahead of a public speaking appearance at the 2018 RSA Conference in San Francisco. The meeting occurred several hours after Joyce’s planned departure was first reported by Reuters and then independently confirmed by CyberScoop. “It’s within Ambassador Bolton’s prerogative [to select the next cybersecurity coordinator],” Nielsen said. “[Bolton] will take the time to work with Rob’s team and work with him, but that would be up to him.” While Joyce spends the next month transitioning out of his role, Bolton will coordinate with the White House National Security Council to find a replacement. It is also possible that Bolton will take this opportunity to restructure aspects of the existing position, a current U.S. […]

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Cybersecurity adviser Rob Joyce to leave White House, return to NSA

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Rob Joyce is planning to leave his post as White House cybersecurity coordinator and return to work at the National Security Agency, a U.S. official confirmed to CyberScoop on Monday. The news comes less than a week after Joyce’s boss, Thomas Bossert, resigned as White House homeland security adviser. Joyce has been filling Bossert’s role in an acting capacity. Bossert’s resignation was reportedly at the request of John Bolton, the newly appointed national security adviser. The departures of Joyce and Bossert leave big gaps in the Trump administration’s cybersecurity expertise. In his main role, Joyce has been involved in developing the framework surrounding how the U.S. responds to foreign cyberthreats. He participated in a call with reporters on Monday to issue an alert about Russian-backed hacking efforts targeting internet routers. Joyce has also been vocal to push for carveouts for security research in the impending European General Data Protection Regulation, which many say has a chilling effect on […]

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Thomas Bossert resigns from White House

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White House official Thomas Bossert, a special assistant to the president on homeland security matters, has resigned, the White House announced Tuesday. The resignation comes one day after newly appointed national security adviser John Bolton took his position at the White House. Bloomberg has reported that Bossert’s resignation came as a result of a Bolton request. NEWS: Bossert is essentially being fired. He is resigning at the request of new National Security Adviser John Bolton, I’m told. — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 10, 2018 Bossert spoke publicly as recent as Sunday on the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to counter Russian aggression in cyberspace. Various national security experts, including some current U.S. officials, have criticized the White House in recent months for what they describe as insufficient punishment towards the Kremlin for having meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Bossert was an important voice in the Trump administration when it came […]

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