Interim CISA chief: ‘When the government shuts down, cyber threats do not’

Steven

Interim CISA chief: ‘When the government shuts down, cyber threats do not’

Summary

Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala told the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee that a Department of Homeland Security shutdown would sharply reduce the agency’s ability to protect networks and respond to incidents. He warned a shutdown would force over a third of CISA’s frontline security staff to work without pay, limit proactive activities such as vulnerability scanning, and slow progress on a key cyber incident reporting rule. CISA has already shifted staff across DHS components and taken personnel from other parts of the department, and the agency has lost roughly one-third of its workforce since the start of the current administration.

Lawmakers are racing to fund DHS before a short-term patch expires, with partisan disputes over immigration enforcement increasing the likelihood of a partial or full shutdown. Republicans on the panel argued some DHS functions would continue, while Democrats proposed legislation to fund most DHS components except ICE and CBP.

Key Points

  1. Madhu Gottumukkala warned that cyber threats continue regardless of a government shutdown and that CISA’s capacity would be degraded.
  2. A shutdown would force more than one-third of frontline CISA security experts and threat hunters to work without pay.
  3. CISA would be limited to essential, immediate tasks and would be unable to perform proactive vulnerability scanning.
  4. Progress on the cyber incident reporting rule could be impeded during a funding lapse.
  5. CISA has reassigned about 70 employees to other DHS components and taken in 30+ staff from elsewhere in the department.
  6. The agency has lost roughly a third of its staff since the start of the current administration, raising resilience concerns.
  7. Political disputes over immigration and appropriations are driving the risk of a DHS funding gap that would trigger these impacts.

Context and relevance

This testimony comes amid a fast-moving budget fight in Congress over DHS funding and immigration policy. For organisations relying on federal cyber guidance or coordination during incidents, a shutdown could mean slower warnings, fewer proactive scans, and reduced technical assistance. The warning underscores a broader trend: fiscal brinkmanship can create tangible cyber risk by eroding government capacity and staff retention, at a time when nation-state and criminal actors maintain relentless pressure on US infrastructure.

Why should I read this?

Because it matters. If you care about cyber resilience, national security or run systems that rely on federal coordination, this is a short, vital heads-up — funding fights don’t pause adversaries. Read it to understand the immediate operational impacts and who’ll be affected.

Source

Source: https://therecord.media/interim-cisa-chief-tells-congress-threats-continue-during-shutdown