State Department Layoffs Are 'Fracturing' US Cyber Diplomacy

Experts Warn Reorganization Splinters Cyberspace Bureau and Intelligence Divisions Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • July 16, 2025

State Department staffers and analysts warn widespread layoffs under Secretary of State Marco Rubio's reorganization plan will badly disrupt the department's cyber diplomacy efforts and weaken its ability to coordinate with global partners as foreign cyberthreats against the U.S. continue intensifying.

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The State Department cuts rolled out last week eliminated nearly 1,350 jobs - including intelligence analysts tracking critical conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and staffers within the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy - and overhauled several key divisions with major cyber roles, including the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and CDP, Information Security Media Group has ...