Microsoft exec gets new cyber job at DHS

Krebs started at the Department of Homeland Security this week as a senior counselor, generally working cyber issues.

Christopher Krebs, a cybersecurity policy executive for Microsoft and vice-chair of the National Cyber Security Alliance, started work this week as a senior counselor to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, the first major cyber-policy appointment at the department.

Krebs “started at [the Department of Homeland Security] this week, as a senior counselor, and he’s generally working cyber issues,” DHS Spokesman David Lapan told CyberScoop via email.

Krebs, who has no relation to security blogger Brian Krebs, worked at the department as a policy advisor during the George W. Bush administration, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A former colleague said Krebs worked for Bob Stephan, when the retired Air Force colonel — now an executive with Alexandria, Va-based homeland security consultants CRA, Inc. — was DHS assistant secretary for infrastructure protection.

Krebs’ appointment, first reported by Politico, is one of a slew of new job announcements at DHS this week.

Monday, the White House said President Trump will nominate David Glawe to be DHS undersecretary for intelligence and analysis.

Glawe is a career official who is currently in charge of intelligence at U.S. Customs and Border Protection — the DHS agency that includes the customs and immigration officials that staff U.S. ports of entry and the Border Patrol that protects the frontier in between them.

Then Tuesday, the president named two assistant secretaries at DHS — Benjamin Cassidy for legislative affairs and Jonathan Rath Hoffman for public affairs.

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Chinese espionage groups swarm to exploit triple-link chain of zero-days

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Russian national extradited to US for alleged involvement in bank-account takeover scheme

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure