[Infowarrior] - WH CISO departs

[Richard Forno]

(x-posted)

Secrecy surrounds White House cybersecurity staff shakeup

Zack Whittaker

http://www.zdnet.com/article/white-house-chief-information-security-officer-departs/

The chief information security officer for the White House's Executive Office of the President has been removed from his position, sources have confirmed.

Cory Louie was appointed to the position by former President Obama in 2015, charged with keeping safe the staff closest to the president -- including the president himself -- from cyber-threats posed by hackers and nation-state attackers.

But circumstances surrounding his departure, weeks after President Donald Trump took office, remain unclear.

It's thought he was either fired or asked to resign last Thursday evening, and he was escorted out from his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street from the West Wing.

His LinkedIn profile remains unchanged at the time of writing.

Since then, there has been a near-absolute wall of silence from the White House -- from both the staff, which up until last week worked for Louie, and spokespeople for the Trump administration.

However, one source said it's because the remaining staff have "targets on their back" and are afraid of speaking out, calling the actions a "witch hunt" for former Obama appointees. Accusations of poor management were said to be reasons or excuses for his forced departure amid what was described as a "toxic" working environment.

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Louie remained on after the transition of power to the Trump administration, while a number of other key senior staff vacated their positions.

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http://www.zdnet.com/article/white-house-chief-information-security-officer-departs/