Ethical Hacking News
A looming government shutdown is threatening to disrupt transportation and cybersecurity in the United States, with potentially catastrophic consequences for air traffic, road safety, and national security.
The federal government faces a high likelihood of shutting down due to a lack of agreement on a new funding bill. A shutdown would have severe impacts on various sectors, including transportation, affecting flights and road safety. The Department of Transportation would lose $25.5 billion in funding, impacting the FAA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some programs like the Highway Trust Fund would continue to be funded through trust funds, while others might face delays or layoffs. A shutdown would also lead to significant cybersecurity concerns, including a loss of 1,651 employees at CISA and potential disruptions to online disinformation campaigns. Experts warn that further defunding of CISA could make the country more susceptible to cyber attacks. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act would expire if the shutdown occurs, posing significant risks to national security.
The government shutdown that has been threatening to occur is now a very real possibility, as Democrats and Republicans are still unable to come to an agreement on a new funding bill. The regular annual appropriations bill, which funds most of the government, expires at midnight tonight, and if no deal is reached, the federal government will shut down.
The impact of such a shutdown would be far-reaching and devastating, affecting every sector of American life. The transportation sector, in particular, would be severely affected, with flight delays and cancellations becoming commonplace. Air traffic controllers and some TSA workers would be expected to work without pay under the "protection of life and property" exception, but anyone else is at risk of getting furloughed.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) would lose about $25.5 billion in new appropriations if the government shuts down, senior fellow at the ENO Center for Transportation Jeff Davis told Gizmodo. This would be felt on the operations side of the FAA, with flight delays and cancellations becoming more frequent. The lack of funding would also impact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is responsible for improving road safety.
However, it's worth noting that some programs, like the Highway Trust Fund and the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, would continue to be funded through these trust funds. But the FAA's airport grant program would not receive new funding, and existing grants would likely be halted or delayed.
The looming potential layoffs would also be coming at a time when hundreds of thousands of federal employees are accepting buyouts given under Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative. In fact, so many employees are set to leave the U.S. payroll this week that the federal government is facing its largest single-year exodus of civil servants in almost 80 years, according to Reuters.
Furthermore, the shutdown would also have a significant impact on cybersecurity. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which operates under the Department of Homeland Security and works to protect the country from physical and cybersecurity threats, is set to lose 1,651 employees in the event of a shutdown. This represents roughly two-thirds of the entire agency.
The loss of funding would also lead to a reduction in the agency's work on countering online disinformation campaigns. CISA has already faced considerable loss of funding and personnel this year. One-third of CISA employees have left the agency since Trump took office in January, according to Axios. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressed her interest in shrinking the agency even before her confirmation, saying that the agency's investigations of online foreign disinformation campaigns had gone "far off mission."
Some experts worry that further defunding of the agency will make the country more susceptible to cyber attacks. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, which allows tech companies to share internet traffic information and other user data with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (and from there, the NSA, DoD, and FBI) for cybersecurity purposes, would also expire if the shutdown occurs.
A group of bipartisan cybersecurity leaders penned a letter last week asking Congress to prioritize the reauthorization of the act. "An erosion of intergovernmental and public-private information sharing, particularly in the wake of recent cuts to federal programs and personnel, would pose significant risks to national security and our collective cyber defense," the letter said.
The situation is dire, and it's unclear when or if a deal will be reached. The Senate is set to vote again on a stopgap bill that Republicans are gunning to pass, but Democratic lawmakers are still standing firm in their opposition to the bill, demanding the inclusion of healthcare policies like the reversal of Medicaid cuts and the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The regular annual appropriations bill funds most of the government, and it expires at midnight tonight. If Republicans don’t make concessions on a new bill or successfully convince Democrats to yield by then, the government will shut down. The impact of such a shutdown would be far-reaching and devastating, affecting every sector of American life.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/A-Government-Shutdown-Looms-How-It-Could-Disrupt-Transportation-and-Cybersecurity-ehn.shtml
Published: Tue Sep 30 12:32:11 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
