Former top NSA cyber official: Probationary firings ‘devastating’ to cyber, national security

The NSA’s former top cybersecurity official told Congress on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s attempts to mass fire probationary federal employees will be “devastating” for U.S. cybersecurity operations.

In testimony to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rob Joyce, the former NSA cybersecurity director who retired from government service last year, warned lawmakers that countering Chinese hacking campaigns against critical infrastructure will require top-level cybersecurity talent at the NSA and other government agencies.

“Part of the defense is also having expertise and capacity in the government,” Joyce said. “I want to raise my grave concerns that the aggressive threats to cut U.S. government probationary employees will have a devastating impact on the cybersecurity and our national security.”

Probationary federal employees are those who have been in their current positions for less than a year, though in many cases those employees have worked other positions in the federal government over their careers.

Shortly after coming into office, the Trump administration, using the Office of Personnel Management, attempted to fire nearly all federal probationary employees en masse. A federal judge has temporarily blocked that order, citing a lack of authority by OPM to fire employees at other agencies.

OPM this week updated its guidance to reflect that firing decisions are made by individual departments and agencies, and many of those agencies have begun working to rehire or reinstate batches of fired workers in the weeks since they were dismissed.

Joyce, who spent 34 years at the NSA, emphasized how important those employees are in sustaining an aggressive stance against China in cyberspace.

“At my former agency, remarkable technical talent was recruited into developmental programs that provided intensive unique training and hands-on experience to cultivate vital skills,” Joyce said. “Eliminating probationary employees will destroy a pipeline of top talent responsible for hunting and eradicating [Chinese] threats.”

But he also lamented that the firings may have already harmed the NSA’s ability to retain and attract top cybersecurity talent, as those affected seek more stable employment options.

“If the positions are not eliminated, the pervasive uncertainty and doubt in the current environment is forcing them to seek and secure opportunities for their families outside national security,” Joyce said.