Significant strides made by the U.S. in combating international cybersecurity threats and forging digital collaborations with other nations were noted by cybersecurity experts and former officials to potentially be endangered by the Trump administration's plan to transfer the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to another department and establish a new cyber threat-focused bureau as part of a State Department overhaul, reports Cybersecurity Dive.
Transitioning the cyber bureau into the State Department's economic affairs wing could mean an economic focus for the department's cyber-diplomacy strategy, according to experts. "To the extent the cybersecurity portfolio stays under the Economic U/S, that is not a place for hard security issues that will likely get less attention in that reporting chain," said Chris Painter, who was previously the U.S.'s top cyber diplomat. Such a plan was also noted by Council on Foreign Relations Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program Director Adam Segal to cause further tech policy fragmentation. "Splitting cyber threats and building digital ecosystems does not make sense. The two are mutually reinforcing," Segal added.
Transitioning the cyber bureau into the State Department's economic affairs wing could mean an economic focus for the department's cyber-diplomacy strategy, according to experts. "To the extent the cybersecurity portfolio stays under the Economic U/S, that is not a place for hard security issues that will likely get less attention in that reporting chain," said Chris Painter, who was previously the U.S.'s top cyber diplomat. Such a plan was also noted by Council on Foreign Relations Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program Director Adam Segal to cause further tech policy fragmentation. "Splitting cyber threats and building digital ecosystems does not make sense. The two are mutually reinforcing," Segal added.
