Jen Easterly

Rule Changes

Leading U.S. government push for secure-by-design principles

On January 12, 2026, millions of Teams users woke up to find their security settings had changed overnight. Microsoft activated weaponizable file blocking, malicious URL detection, and phishing protections across every organization still using default configurations—no IT administrator approval required. Days earlier, the company had quietly expanded Zero-Hour Auto Purge malware removal to all Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 customers, creating a one-two punch of automated threat protection. The moves mark the sharpest turn yet in Microsoft's $34 billion bet that 'secure by default' can repair its battered reputation after Russian and Chinese hackers ransacked its networks in 2023.

Updated Jan 14

Force in Play

Leading federal critical infrastructure defense efforts

Chinese hackers have burrowed deep into America's power grids, water systems, telecommunications networks, and transportation infrastructure—not to steal secrets, but to flip a kill switch. The Pentagon's December 2024 report confirms what intelligence agencies have warned: Beijing expects to fight and win a war over Taiwan by 2027, and cyber operations like Volt Typhoon have pre-positioned capabilities to cripple American response by shutting down pipelines, derailing trains, and severing communications between the mainland and Hawaii. In a stunning development, Chinese officials indirectly admitted in a secret December Geneva meeting that Volt Typhoon attacks were linked to U.S. support for Taiwan—the first time Beijing has acknowledged involvement.

Updated Dec 26, 2025