Trump Revokes Security Clearance For Former CISA Director Chris Krebs

The memorandum signed by President Trump also suspends any active security clearances held by other individuals working for cybersecurity vendor SentinelOne, where Krebs serves as chief intelligence and public policy officer.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Wednesday that revokes any active security clearances held by Chris Krebs, the former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and suspends any security clearances held by individuals connected with Krebs’ current employer, cybersecurity vendor SentinelOne.

The memorandum also directs the U.S. attorney general and the homeland security secretary to investigate Krebs’ activities during his time as a government employee, which included serving as the first director of CISA from its formation in November 2018 until November 2020.

Krebs (pictured), who was appointed by Trump as CISA director, served in the role until after the 2020 presidential election when he was fired by Trump, via a tweet. The dismissal came after Krebs had vouched for the security of the election, contradicting Trump’s claims of fraud over an election that saw him defeated by Joe Biden.

The memorandum signed by President Trump Wednesday directs agency heads to “revoke any active security clearance held by Christopher Krebs” as well as to “suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at entities associated with Krebs, including SentinelOne” pending a review.

In a statement provided to CRN, SentinelOne said it plans to cooperate with the investigations and that only a small number of employees are impacted by the suspension of clearances.

“We will actively cooperate in any review of security clearances held by any of our personnel – currently less than 10 employees overall and only where required by existing government processes and procedures to secure government systems. Accordingly, we do not expect this to materially impact our business in any way,” the company said in the statement.

SentinelOne added that as part of its cyber defense mission, “we view the White House as a crucial collaborator on that mission, and we will continue to support a strong America at a time of heightened geopolitical threats.”

“We will continue to nurture our partnerships in the U.S. government, military, and intelligence community and collaborate in our shared mission to defend U.S. critical infrastructure in cyberspace as we always have,” the company said in the statement.

Krebs joined SentinelOne, a publicly traded cybersecurity vendor where he serves as chief intelligence and public policy officer, in November 2023 following the vendor’s acquisition of his consultancy, Krebs Stamos Group.

The review ordered by Trump will also include a “comprehensive evaluation of all of CISA’s activities” over the past six years, according to the memorandum.