Election security employees sent on leave, Trump administration said – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency deviated from real mission
The US cybersecurity agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has sent several of its election security employees on administrative leave. This could affect the vital security assistance provided to state and local election offices across the country. According to a source, 17 CISA employees have recently been sent on leave. These employees were providing training and assessments to protect election officials from cyber attacks, ransomware and physical security threats. At the same time, 10 regional election security experts, who were appointed ahead of the 2024 elections, have also been affected by this decision. Their job was to coordinate with election officials.
Officials expressed concern over CISA’s decision
State election officials have expressed concern over this decision. Kentucky Secretary Michael Adams (Republican) said that CISA‘s ground staff has helped local election offices a lot. At the same time, Michigan Secretary Jocelyn Benson (Democrat) also said that CISA has been an important partner for election security.
President Trump is angry with CISA
This decision has come at a time when questions are being raised about the future role of CISA. President Donald Trump and his allies have been angry about the agency’s election security and misinformation prevention policies. Trump‘s new security secretary Kristi Noem recently said that CISA has deviated from its real mission.
CISA was formed during Trump’s first term
Let us tell you that CISA was created in 2018 during the Trump administration to protect America’s important infrastructure such as dams, nuclear plants, banks and voting systems. But the controversy continues over the agency’s role on misinformation related to the 2020 elections and Kovid-19. There has been no official statement yet about CISA’s future plans.
