Sen. Ron Wyden has put on hold the nomination of Sean Plankey as director of CISA

[ancianita]

citing CISA's refusal to publicly release an unclassified 2022 report on security practices at U.S. telecom firms.

Wyden said the Salt Typhoon campaign, a state-linked effort to infiltrate the networks of U.S. telecom firms by China, should force the disclosure of the report, and he accused CISA of covering up years of negligent security practices by the telecom industry.

“When it comes to harm to U.S. cybersecurity, the administration can easily comply with Sen. Wyden’s request and proceed with the nomination,” Keith Chu, deputy policy director and spokesperson for Wyden, told Cybersecurity Dive via email.

“Second, I’d point out that the dismantling of Cybersecurity Review Board investigating the Salt Typhoon hack, expected firing of a significant portion of CISA, our nation’s highest national security officials texting sensitive defense information on insecure phones, rampant circumvention of security protocols by DOGE and failure to present any coherent cybersecurity agenda all have opened the door to major risks to American cybersecurity.”

Wyden has been pushing CISA to address security risks in the telecom industry long before the Trump administration took office. In April 2023, Wyden sent a letter to former CiSA Director Jen Easterly and National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone seeking cybersecurity audits of FirstNet, a phone network used by first responders and the U.S. military.

Salt Typhoon, a threat group linked to the People’s Republic of China, gained access to the networks of nine major telecommunications firms, as part of an effort to ... gain access to actual communications of top U.S. officials.

More at
https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/plankey-nomination-cisa-wyden-telecom/745024/

Ron badass Wyden is a stalwart advocate of cybersecurity in the public interest. He's been a welcome representative of the US govt at DEF CON's yearly cybersecurity conferences. His holding up Plankey's confirmation as head of CISA can slow down the felon's plans for firings at CISA, over 130 of which were already done in February 2025.

Given the felon's motives for his nominations, Sean Plankey could ride on the positives of his reputation and imo, still trend toward selling out to this administration in using AI in any upcoming elections. We need Wyden's hold to be a long one that totally frustrates the felon's plans to hack future US elections.