Cory Louie, the White House’s now former chief cybersecurity officer, was reportedly removed from his position.
Louie “was forced to resign,” according to an editor at The Atlantic, who was the first to report his exit, despite initially saying that he was a member of the Secret Service. The story was apparently corroborated by ZDNet, who spoke to unnamed sources on the matter.
When the Trump administration took office, Louie remained at his post, despite several other senior cybersecurity officials resigning.
The White House has not commented on the abrupt and surreptitious purge of Louie. Remaining staff members have stayed quiet (for the most part) because they feel as if they have “targets on their back,” one source told ZDNet.
Former President Barack Obama created the role of Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in 2016 as part of his cybersecurity national action plan. The CISO is tasked with protecting the White House’s staff from virtual threats, while also driving “cybersecurity policy, planning and implementation across the Government.”
A leaked memo provided an example of Louie’s responsibilities as CISO, which in one instance was to give Obama technical guidance on his communications and ensure that his devices were secure before traveling to Cuba in March of last year.
Prior to working in the White House, Louie worked at Google and Dropbox, a popular file-hosting service, according to ZDNet.
President Donald Trump’s personal cybersecurity practices have been criticized in recent weeks. Trump reportedly uses both his old Android phone and the U.S. Secret-Service-approved secure phone, much to the chagrin of U.S. security officials. (RELATED: How Trump Beats The System And Uses His Old Phone)
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