Senate confirms former NSA official Jen Easterly as CISA Director

The U.S. Senate this week approved former senior National Security Agency and White House counterterrorism and cyber official Jen Easterly as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Easterly, who formerly served on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and as Senior Director for Counterterrorism, among other roles, takes the reins after an eight-month-long void of official leadership. Her approval was unanimous, following delays caused by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who sought to slow the appointment of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to force President Joe Biden to visit the U.S.-Mexican border.

Easterly’s appointment has been met with support from several organizations and individuals, including Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation

“It is unfortunate that political games delayed her confirmation, but we are pleased the Senate has finally acted to confirm Jen Easterly as CISA Director,” Thompson and Clarke said in a joint statement. “At a time when cyber threats are increasing and evolving, Jen Easterly brings the experience and leadership needed to strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity. We look forward to working with her to ensure CISA is best positioned to fulfill its mission of protecting Federal networks and critical infrastructure.”

CISA is in charge of improving cybersecurity in the government, coordinating cybersecurity efforts with states, and countering private and nation-state hackers. Recent days, however, have stressed the current limits of such capabilities. Formed in 2018 out of DHS’s cyber operations, CISA has struggled to protect the nation’s physical and digital infrastructure against a mounting slew of attacks, even as new legislation heaps new duties on its roughly 2,500 personnel.

This year has seen an abundance of high-profile cyberattacks, including the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in May by an alleged Russian cybercrime gang, which crippled the energy infrastructure and supplies for nearly half of the East Coast’s liquid fuels. Kaseya, an IT solutions developer, was also hit in July in a ransomware attack that exploited authentication controls to hit hundreds of small to medium-sized companies throughout the United States.

Additionally, the national security framework is still reeling from the SolarWinds espionage campaign at the end of last year, which has been declared one of the most devastating in history. Global software supply chains were proven to be highly vulnerable, and the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Commerce were all among those compromised. Officials later alleged the hackers involved in that attack were linked to Russia.

It is an uncertain time for both private and public security. As such, the private sector has joined public officials in welcoming Easterly to her new role and what it may entail. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), representing all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, was among those to congratulate the new CISA director.

“Director Easterly’s cyber and national security experience make her eminently qualified to serve in this role, and we applaud her continued commitment to public service,” Tom Kuhn, EEI president, said. “Protecting America’s critical energy infrastructure from cyber and physical threats is a shared responsibility between the electric power industry and our government partners. We look forward to working with Director Easterly and the CISA team and with leaders from across the Biden administration, as we all prioritize the industry-government coordination and information sharing that are so important to ensuring that we continue to enhance the resilience and security of the North American energy grid.”