President Trump’s early tenure has been marked by reports of slipshod cybersecurity practices, and dysfunction among the country’s intelligence agencies. But behind the scenes, Trump has shown he is attuned to hacking threats, and prepared to defend the U.S. in cyber-space, according to the former head of the National Security Agency.
Speaking at a breakfast in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, retired General Keith Alexander described a recent meeting at which the President discussed cybersecurity issues with members of his inner circle. According to Alexander, Trump’s behavior shifted significantly once members of the media left the event.
“The President’s demeanor changed to what you would expect of a corporate CEO,” said Alexander. “The part that struck me was he listened. He took what they said, restated it, went on to next thing and allowed everyone to talk.”
via “Trump Is Engaged on Cyber Threats, Says Former NSA Head,” Fortune (February 14, 2017 at 11:40AM)
Yeah, Trump is a real cybersecurity genius. He uses an outdated Samsung smartphone.
When the media isn’t around he acts like a “corporate CEO.” Just a couple problems:
- He’s not a CEO. He’s the President and should act like one.
- Corporate CEOs, last I checked, aren’t doing so hot on cybersecurity these days. Just Google “corporate data breaches 2016.” No? Ok then let me do it for you.
- Wow, he listened to people and was able to repeat back what they said. That’s not the sign of a cybersecurity genius, merely a person that has basic interpersonal skills.
