Hacking with Hannah

Behind every person, there's a whole story that seemingly doesn't seem to be about them but at the crux of it, it's their story too. Before I tell you about Jen Easterly, I need to tell you about CISA.

One of the biggest nation-securing roles the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has is leading the efforts in defending the United States' democratic systems from election fraud and tampering. This involves deep and critical investigations from some of the most talented and brightest people of the nation when it comes to digital forensics and cyber threat intelligence. Surprisingly, this is actually a relatively new agency brought in by Donald Trump during his 2016-2020 term. He even appointed Christopher Krebs, a lifelong republican and highly experienced and decorated security officer to become the director of CISA. Although he might feel differently about CISA now, Trump signing L. 115-278 to establish this agency is universally considered one of the most positive contributions he's ever given to the United States.

There had been some contention about whether former President Joe Biden had truly and fairly won the 2020 election, so Christopher Krebs and his team led the efforts in securing the election, investigating the claims, and deep diving in data analysis. As the media frenzy and outrage around it grew, further escalated by Trump, CISA posted a fact sheet on their website and debunked all disinformation surrounding the situation. Shortly after this, Trump fired Krebs on his way out of the White House. This forced Brandon Wales to take over CISA temporarily until Joe Biden appointed another director.

That's where Jen Easterly came in.

After being confirmed by the Senate in July 2021, she had officially taken over the position. But she's long made her mark in the cybersecurity world and this nation even becoming the head director of CISA. She was instrumental in building the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) in 2010, which is responsible for defending our U.S. military networks and conducting regular penetration testing to quickly find security gaps within our country and patch them. She nurtured stronger communication and collaboration between public and private sectors to further enhance resource and information sharing, enhancing cybersecurity for all by doing so. She launched the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) in 2021 to connect federal agencies, state, and local governments as well as private sector partners to coordinate in cyber defense efforts when they've all been in their own silos previously. She also fostered and emphasized the need for a "People First" Culture, changing the way many thought about cybersecurity.