US election cybersecurity agency could face cuts

ISTANBUL

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will be facing cuts, according to sources quoted by CBS News, as President Donald Trump’s strives to pare down the federal workforce.

As many as 1,300 agency employees could be pushed out or incentivized to leave, three sources familiar with the plans said. CISA employs nearly 3,400 people as of the most recent data.

The timing of the cuts is unclear, and the workforce reduction is likely to come in weeks, not months, according to a source quoted.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration fired probationary CISA employees, but more than 130 of them were ordered to be reinstated by a judge.

CISA acts as a part of the US Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, coordinating cybersecurity programs with states and improving the government's cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers.