After the United States recently conducted air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Trump administration warned of the possibility of cyber retaliation from Iran, but concerns are growing that internal defense systems are weakening. This is a consequence of President Trump's focus on anti-immigration policies, budget cuts, and restructuring of federal agencies.
On the 24th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) highlighted the situation, reporting that the budget and personnel of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been drastically reduced in recent months. This agency, responsible for protecting critical cyber infrastructure in the United States, saw over $10 million (approximately 13.6 billion won) cut from its budget last March, and contracts for nearly 100 experts were terminated. The 2026 budget proposal even includes a plan to reduce personnel by an additional 1,000.
Currently, the Trump administration maintains the stance that 'border security is national security.' According to NYT, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the arrest of 11 Iranian nationals illegally residing in the United States, and Vice President J.D. Vance emphasized that "we are doing everything we can to prevent dangerous individuals from crossing the border." Trump's plan is to intensively redeploy government personnel to border enforcement duties to enhance national security through the deportation of immigrants.
Agency downsizing is occurring throughout government institutions. The Trump administration has also proposed dismantling the department dedicated to responding to weapons of mass destruction within DHS and absorbing those functions into other organizations within the department. A significant number of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees who were responsible for cybercrime investigations have also been redeployed to the deportation operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Efforts to allocate budgets are being intensified. Trump previously requested Congress to allocate a budget of $175 billion (238.2625 trillion won) to strengthen ICE's large-scale deportation operations. An additional 2,000 agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Protective Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are expected to be deployed for immigration enforcement.
However, experts are skeptical. Above all, there is a concern that the U.S. could become vulnerable to modern airstrikes targeting cyber networks. Susan Spolding, former Deputy Minister for Cybersecurity at DHS, said, "The departure of skilled personnel and loss of experience will deal a significant blow to the United States' cyber response capability," adding that "such a gap during a serious time could have lethal consequences."
In fact, a sense of crisis is increasingly being felt on the ground. Recently retired former FBI agent Michael Feinberg stated, "It is a strategic mistake to have top experts in national security leave the organization while the remaining personnel are deployed to immigration enforcement."
Earlier that day, Trump had partially suspended the rotation of FBI agents for immigration enforcement in preparation for Iranian threats, but this has been criticized as a belated measure. Mike Sena, chairman of the U.S. Fusion Center established to promote information sharing at the federal level, said, "The collaboration that was closely maintained until last year is now difficult," adding that "the on-site response system has already become lax."