President Donald Trump released his administration’s cyber strategy Friday, promoting offense operations in cyberspace, securing federal networks and critical infrastructure, streamlining regulations, leveraging emerging technologies and strengthening the cybersecurity workforce.

Trump also signed an executive order Friday directing agencies to take action to combat cybercrime and fraud.

A little more than half of the five pages of strategy text of the long-anticipated document is preamble, and two of its seven pages are title and ending pages. Administration officials have said the strategy is deliberately high-level, and the White House promised more detailed guidance in the future.

The strategy “calls for unprecedented coordination across government and the private sector to invest in the best technologies and continue world-class innovation, and to make the most of America’s cyber capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions,” the White House said in a statement accompanying its release.

Each of the six “pillars” of the strategy offer some prescriptions.

“Shaping adversary behavior” calls for using U.S. government offensive and defensive capabilities in cyberspace, as well as incentivizing the private sector to disrupt adversary networks.

It also says Trump will “counter the spread of the surveillance state and authoritarian technologies that monitor and repress citizens,” even as administration critics argue that his administration has fostered surveillance and repression against U.S. citizens.

The shortest pillar, “promote common sense regulation,” decries rules that are only “costly checklists.” The Biden administration expanded cyber regulations, spurring some industry resistance. But the Trump pillar does talk about addressing liability, a point of emphasis for the prior administration as well.

“Modernize and secure federal networks” talks about using concepts and technologies like post-quantum cryptography, artificial intelligence, zero-trust and lowering barriers for vendors to sell tech to the government to meet those goals.

To “secure critical infrastructure,” the strategy calls for fortifying not just owners and operators but also the supply chain, in part by focusing on U.S.-made rather than adversary-made products.

“We will deny our adversaries initial access, and in the event of an incident, we must be able to recover quickly,” the strategy reads. “We will galvanize the role of state, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities as a complement to— not a substitute for — our national cybersecurity efforts.” Some critics of the administration’s cybersecurity actions have contended that it has shifted the burden to state and local governments too much.

AI usage makes up the bulk of the pillar entitled “sustain superiority in critical and emerging technologies,” in addition to reflecting earlier parts of the strategy on the topics of quantum cryptography and privacy protection. That includes the protection of data centers, the subject of localized fights across the country over their location and resource costs.

The final pillar says the United States must “build talent and capability,” after a year of the administration cutting a significant number of cyber positions in the federal government. “We will eliminate roadblocks that prevent industry, academia, government, and the military from aligning incentives and building a highly skilled cyber workforce,” it states.

Some positive reviews rolled in about the strategy despite the late-Friday afternoon release, traditionally the time of week when an administration looks to publish news it hopes will garner little attention.

“As new and more sophisticated threats emerge, America needed a new national cyber strategy that captures the urgency of this moment,” USTelecom President and CEO Jonathan Spalter said in a news release. “The President’s strategy rightly recognizes that harnessing America’s unique mix of private-sector innovation with public-sector capacity is the best deterrence.”

Frank Cilluffo, Director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, was struck by the focus on deterrence: “This unified strategy determining a direction on offensive and defensive cyber operations and collaboration couldn’t be more timely.”

The Business Software Alliance cheered the call for streamlining cyber regulations, in particular.

A number of cyber vendors took note of the passages on AI. “Redirecting resources from paperwork to AI-powered security capabilities is the only way to keep pace with modern threats and adversaries who operate at great speed,” said Bill Wright, global head of government affairs at Elastic. “This strategy appears to recognize that fundamental truth.”

Not all the reviews were flattering, however, including from the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, who said the strategy’s “underachieving” was the only thing impressive about it.

“What little ‘substance’ does exist in this pamphlet is a mishmash of vague platitudes, a long catalogue of ‘we will’ statements that may or may not match the Administration’s current behavior, and, mercifully, an apparent extension of some Biden-era policies,” he said. “Completely lacking is even the most basic blueprint for how the Administration will go about achieving any of its cybersecurity goals — an objective possibly hamstrung by the hemorrhage in cyber talent across all Federal agencies since Trump took office.”

The executive order Trump signed Friday coincides with the release of the strategy but there’s little overlap between the subject matter; the strategy makes one mention of cybercrime.

The order directs the attorney general to prioritize prosecution of cybercrime and fraud, orders agencies to review tools that they could use to counter international criminal organizations and  gives the Department of Homeland Security marching orders to improve training, in addition to other steps, according to a fact sheet.

“President Trump is unleashing every available tool to stop foreign-backed criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans through cyber-enabled fraud and extortion,” the fact sheet states.

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A landmark program that offers scholarships in exchange for federal service is threatening to saddle students with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt amid hiring freezes and budget cuts, raising questions about the future of an initiative proponents say has helped close the government’s cyber workforce gap.

Some CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service participants have had federal agency job and internship offers rescinded this year due to cutbacks and freezes. It’s a condition of their scholarship contract that they must work for the government: Those who can’t find employment there will see their grants, often reaching six-figure sums, converted into loans after 18 months.

Numerous participants who spoke to CyberScoop said they regret signing up for the program, and wouldn’t have done so if they knew then what they know now about the government fulfilling its side of the bargain. They also criticized the communication from the agencies overseeing the program, saying it has been difficult to get clear information about how to fulfill their service obligations or receive updates about job fairs connected to the program. Additionally, they expressed frustration over being told to “get creative” in their job searches, as one email suggested.

One participant said that if CyberCorps can’t meet its obligations due to the federal personnel reductions, it should consider ending the program. The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for it by 65% in fiscal 2026. And policy experts who have worked to build up the program are fearful about what the current woes mean for future participants.

“I feel like I’ve put my future in jeopardy, my entire future, and I’ve risked lifelong debt because of the whims of someone else,” said a master’s degree student who got a scholarship through CyberCorps. “Whenever my school has brought on a new cohort of students, I cringe at the thought of it, because it’s just more people who are dancing with lifelong debt and possibly no careers.”

While past federal government shutdowns have thrown temporary wrenches into CyberCorps participants’ job hunts, the current environment for federal jobseekers appears to present more enduring challenges. 

“It wasn’t really a concern that people would be able to land [a job] and pay back their debt to the government through time and service,” said Nick Leiserson, senior vice president for policy at the Institute for Security and Technology think tank, and a former Hill aide whose boss, then-Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., was a big supporter of CyberCorps. “And now that has been shaken, and I don’t know how you get that trust back.”

Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, was critical of the potentially lengthy impact on the CyberCorps program.

“It’s a bait-and-switch where everyone loses, and it will frustrate future efforts to recruit cyber talent into the government,” he said. “The consequences will be felt for decades.”

CyberCorps’ track record

CyberCorps sprang into existence in 2000 in response to a 1998 presidential directive. Since then, the program has had between 4,000 and 5,000 participants, said Mark Montgomery, who worked on the legislation that formalized the program’s creation.

The National Science Foundation and Office of Personnel Management jointly operate the program. An email from NSF said the agency wouldn’t be responding to messages during the current government shutdown. After publication of this story, OPM Director Scott Kupor provided a statement to CyberScoop.

“Bringing top cybersecurity and AI talent into the federal government are critical to our national security. Scholarships for Service is an innovative program that covers the tuition for students who specialize in these areas in exchange for a federal service commitment,” he said. “OPM is committed to the success of SFS and is working closely with the National Science Foundation to ensure CyberCorps participants are supported during this challenging time. Once the shutdown ends, we will issue guidance to agencies encouraging them to fully leverage the program to bring these highly skilled professionals into public service.”

Graduates must get at least one internship with, and then work in the federal government for a period of time equal to the length of their scholarship, although a relatively small percentage are permitted to seek positions in state or local government. (Participants say cyber jobs have been just as few and far between there.) In addition to the scholarships, students also receive stipends.

The internships give students and agencies a chance to determine whether they want to keep working together, and their security clearances are processed ahead of time. “That produces tailored, ready cyber warriors for the federal government,” said Montgomery, now senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

It also gives the federal government a talent pipeline it wouldn’t otherwise have, Leiserson said. While some of the participants CyberScoop spoke to said they had already aspired to government service, some said it wasn’t on their radar prior to signing up for CyberCorps, which they viewed instead as a means to an end: paying for their education.

There have been relatively few criticisms of CyberCorps or how it’s administered. Henry Young, senior director of policy for the Business Software Alliance, said he viewed CyberCorps more as a relatively small piece of the workforce development pie that needs to include more K-12 education, a focus on other federal programs and more coordination with industry. There are an estimated 500,000 cyber jobs open in the United States.

“It’s a well-meaning and reasonable effort to try and recruit more cybersecurity workers to federal, state and local governments,” Young said. “And I think it is probably working, but not really at the scale of the challenge.”

Student experiences

In response to the current administration’s workforce policies, a group of students have informally organized to seek solutions to their looming debt dilemma; an organizer said there were more than 200 who had joined forces. They say they’ve been frustrated to date in their lobbying to agencies and lawmakers. CyberScoop granted several current participants anonymity to speak about their experiences because they fear potential retaliation as they continue seeking employment.

Some of them are creeping up on the 18-month deadline. One had a job offer rescinded this spring. Another had an internship offer pulled.

Past participants received regular communications about openings that were more prolific in prior years, emails show. A recurring theme among current participants CyberScoop spoke with is criticism of what they see as a lack of assistance or even communication about activities that were once common, like job fairs. For example, they were told to expect a job fair in October to replace the annual January event that was canceled, but the October fair never took place.

Participants say that even when job fairs have been held, they have not been as helpful as in the past, despite attending multiple fairs. A September job fair that participants were “strongly encouraged” to participate in included agencies that didn’t have any roles to fill, and for the others, “the majority of the roles offered were not aligned with cybersecurity, and were not qualified as roles that would count towards our SFS work obligation period,” one program participant wrote.

In-person fairs converted to virtual fairs are a bad option, some said. One said they waited stuck in a queue at a virtual fair for hours only to be told the agency had no openings. 

At the same time, participants have bristled at emails like one in July that urged students to “Get creative in your search!”

Some of the participants were interested in cybersecurity because they were drawn to the technical aspects of working with computers. Others said they felt compelled to join by a desire to do good in the world and protect others.

Some were attracted to government work specifically. That’s made the current situation a deflating experience, one said.

“I am less optimistic about working for the government now than I was before,” a participant said. “It’s just the way they’re treating their employees. It kind of feels like I’m walking into a trap, like they want to fire me more than they want to hire me right now.”

What can be done

There are few alternatives available to CyberCorps participants who aren’t able to find federal employment. They could pursue additional degrees, like a Ph.D, but that doesn’t relieve them of their obligation — it just pushes it back. One participant CyberScoop spoke to was able to get a “research exception” that allows them to study a topic at their school in lieu of the obligation.

Going into the military — potentially for a lengthy term of service — could give students an option to repay the loans, but that’s not an option that anyone who CyberScoop spoke to wanted to pursue.

“We have already experienced federal priorities being ‘shifted’ — multiple of my peers report being forced to transition into immigration work during Summer internships and co-ops, when that was not in the original scope of their work,” one wrote.

One participant struggled with the notion of pursuing a private-sector job, which would potentially offer higher wages that would pay off a loan. But in addition to worrying about fierce competition for those roles, they felt pangs of guilt about the idea of accepting such a role after agreeing to work for the government, and whether it would cause blowback on their university.

Some participants had ideas about how to solve the current dilemma. They suggested things like waiving the payback requirement for students who simply couldn’t fill job openings (they’re competing with each other for those jobs, as well as competing with more seasoned jobseekers); making it a condition of the program that if a scholarship is offered, a job exists for a participant to fill; or simply retiring the program.

Montgomery said Congress could appropriate money for the program beyond what the Trump White House’s fiscal 2026 budget sought. And there’s the possibility that jobs cut as part of the early 2025 Department of Government Efficiency reductions could be reversed.

“I can’t guarantee it, but I think the excesses of DOGE will be walked back,” he said.

Thompson called on the Trump administration to act.

“The Trump administration keeps pretending that cybersecurity is a top priority, but everything they do tells us that it’s a lie,” he said. “Actions matter more than words, and if this Administration wants us to believe they care about cybersecurity, they should act to get CyberCorps back on track.”

Updated, 11/3/25: to include comment from the director of OPM.

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