ISMG Editors: How the US Federal Shutdown Exposes Cyber Gaps

Also: Shutdown's Ripple Effects on Healthcare, Mounting Threats to Aging OT Systems Anna Delaney (annamadeline) • October 10, 2025

In this week's update, four ISMG editors discussed the fallout from the U.S. federal shutdown and the impact on state and regional cyber offices, the knock-on effects for healthcare, and the growing cyberthreats facing aging operational technology environments.

See Also: When Identity Protection Fails: Rethinking Resilience for a Modern Threat Landscape

The panelists - Anna Delaney, director, productions; Tony Morbin, executive news editor, EU; Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, executive editor, HealthcareInfoSecurity; and Chris Riotta, managing editor, GovInfoSecurity - discussed:

• How the U.S. federal shutdown has left CISA operating with just 35% of its workforce - severely straining state, local, tribal and territorial cyber offices - and dealing with stalled projects, frozen grant programs and the lapse of the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act;
• How the U.S. federal shutdown is increasing cybersecurity risks ...