RSAC has become an impromptu political battleground, as speakers debate the government’s role in cybersecurity and brands tread carefully on economic forecasts.
Things came to a head after an appearance by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who took the stage as a last-minute addition Tuesday afternoon.
Noem accused the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of acting as a “Ministry of Truth” when it debunked misinformation, likely referring to President Donald Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 election was hacked against him.
“They were deciding what was truth and what was not,” Noem said.
The usually apolitical conference has been anything but, with cybersecurity experts facing a reminder of the Trump administration’s attack on their industry.
“This is what happens when you get unqualified people to run things,” one State Department employee told Vendelux on condition of anonymity.
In her speech, Noem emphasized her commitment to cybersecurity by urging congress to re-authorize the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Extension Act, stressing the threat of Chinese attacks on American networks and asking firms to reach out to CISA for collaboration opportunities.
The State Department employee told Vendelux: “She’s just a puppet.”
Her speech was all the more controversial because it came on the heels of another talk by former CISA director Chris Krebs, who drew applause from RSAC attendees for condemning Trump’s assault on the agency.
The administration has cut staff at CISA and encouraged others to retire at a time when cyber threats continue to rise, NBC News reports.
“Right now, to see what’s happening to the cybersecurity community inside the federal government, we should be outraged. Absolutely outraged,” Krebs said in his speech.
Trump has retaliated against Krebs numerous times. The president fired Krebs during his lame duck session back in 2020, and three weeks ago, he revoked his security clearance and started an investigation against him, drawing widespread condemnation from infosec leaders.
Noem’s appearance ruffled more than a few feathers on the trade show floor.
“I believe that she’s just trumpeting the company line, or the conservative line, and I personally don’t agree with it,” said Wayne Maw, general manager at Boston-based X-Phy Cybersecurity, who was exhibiting while Noem spoke.
In a blog post, GreyNoise Intelligence vice president of data science Bob Rudis condemned the conference’s leadership for giving Noem any stage time at all.
“Every individual involved with RSAC who had a part to play in this decision should be deeply, deeply ashamed of themselves,” he wrote.
Jessica Hebenstreit feels the same way. She’s been volunteering at RSAC for the past four years as a way to meet people and earn a free pass to the educational sessions.
The sudden shoehorning of Noem into the schedule bothered her so much that she’s considering not coming back.
“Allowing Kristi Noem a platform when she is part of an administration and effort that is actively dismantling our national cyber security capabilities and damaging relationships with our intelligence partners is wrong,” Hebenstreit said. “RSAC had the chance to take a stand and not give space to this woman and administration and they blew it. I’m very disappointed.”
RSAC declined to make conference leadership available for an interview with Vendelux, citing a busy schedule.
British tech news site The Register decried the lack of federal cybersecurity experts at this year’s event, reporting that a popular yearly talk with NSA officials was scrapped at the last minute, as was their interview with NSA Director Dave Luber.
Some took this as further proof of the Trump administration’s distaste for professional elites.
“Trump’s appointing everyone who doesn’t know a goddamn thing about what their field is,” Maw said.
Meanwhile, concerns about a possible recession continue to linger in the minds of company leaders and event marketers on site.
J.P. Morgan Research puts the probability of a 2025 recession at 60% based on Trump’s tariffs, most of which are leveled against China.
“I think everybody’s feeling that pressure when it comes to the tariffs,” said Katerina Kilmonis, North American field marketing manager for AlgoSec. “We still have no way to know how it’s going to affect any industry. In tech, we’re not always selling physical products, so it’s kind of a wait-and-see. Until we get there, we won’t really know.”
Speaking a day after competing in RSAC’s Innovation Sandbox competition, Benny Porat, CEO of Israel-based Twine Security, echoed Kilmoni’s wait-and-see approach.
Asked if his startup is making any plans to cut down on travel or events, he said, “We’re speaking about it, but we are fortunate to have enough runway that we don’t need to make rash decisions.
“It’s a mistake to make a decision right now when there’s uncertainty,” he cautioned. “Let’s give it two months, see what’s going on, and then see how much it affects us and if we need to do something.”
