Lucas Ropek notes that although the Trump Administration took a number of significant measures addressing cybersecurity, including the establishment of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, it “seemed to lack an identifiable strategy,” and involved the questionable elimination of the national cybersecurity coordinator position and the firing of CISA director Chris Krebs.
He argues that the incoming administration could mean significant changes. “Under Biden, some expect federal cybersecurity to take a much more prominent, strategic position, as he pushes the federal government to build off of work done in the Trump years, while also bringing on board some cyberprofessionals who played prominent roles during the Obama years.” For example, Biden’s pick of Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security has been considered a promising sign for cybersecurity, given his experience with the subject during his tenure as deputy secretary under Obama.