*

Reuters asked 36 cyber organizations about Trump's attack

on

SentinelOne ( S )

*

Only one replied with statement in support of the firm

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Executive says Trump cowing the industry

By Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The cybersecurity

industry has gone mostly quiet after President Donald Trump took

action against one of its prominent members.

Trump on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of security

clearances of SentinelOne ( S ) executives and employees, part

of a campaign to use the might of the U.S. government to crush

his political opponents.

SentinelOne's ( S ) offense was hiring former Trump appointee

Chris Krebs as chief intelligence and public policy officer.

Krebs served as the first director of the Cybersecurity and

Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. civilian cyber defense

agency, but he enraged Trump in November 2020 by refusing to

endorse the bogus claim that Democrat Joe Biden stole the

presidential election. The move led to Trump firing him over

Twitter.

In a White House memo explaining the move, Trump accused

Krebs, a Republican, of having "suppressed conservative

viewpoints." The memo provided no evidence and did not explain

why SentinelOne ( S ) had anything to do with the matter. CISA

referred questions to the White House, which did not return an

email seeking comment.

Krebs' refusal to back Trump's false election claims made

him a hero in Washington cyber circles. Following a 2021

appearance at an information security conference, organizers

handed Krebs a flight jacket bearing the words, "FIRED BY

TWEET."

Krebs' speech was followed by applause then, but Reuters

found little sign of industry support for Krebs or SentinelOne ( S )

as they face Trump now.

Katie Moussouris, founder of Luta Security, said she doubted

the industry would publicly back SentinelOne ( S ) given the White

House's actions.

"I don't think it's feasible for cybersecurity companies to

have a broader response on this," she said. "The risk is just

too high."

Reuters contacted 33 of the largest U.S. cybersecurity

companies, including tech companies and professional services

firms with large cybersecurity practices, and three industry

groups, for comment on Trump's action against SentinelOne ( S ).

Only one offered comment on Trump's action. The rest

declined, did not respond or did not answer questions.

Microsoft ( MSFT ), where Krebs worked as a director between

2014 and 2017, according to Krebs' LinkedIn profile, was one of

11 companies that declined to comment on Trump's move against

SentinelOne ( S ). Rubrik ( RBRK ), which formerly had Krebs as part

of an advisory board, said only that the board had been inactive

since 2023, but did not address questions about Krebs or

SentinelOne ( S ).

Twenty-four other businesses and trade groups did not

respond to requests for comment. Among them was CrowdStrike ( CRWD )

, whose work defending the Democratic National Committee

from Russian hackers in 2016 has long made it the object of

conspiracy theories spread by Trump and others.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance, where Krebs briefly

served as vice chair before joining CISA, did not return emails.

The Cloud Security Alliance, of which SentinelOne ( S ) is a member,

declined comment.

The only group to comment on SentinelOne's ( S ) situation was the

Washington-based Cyber Threat Alliance, whose president

described the White House memo ordering the restrictions on

SentinelOne ( S ) as carrying numerous falsehoods.

"Targeting a company because the president does not like

someone in the company is an example of the very weaponization

of the federal government the memo claims to be combating,"

president Michael Daniel said.

In a statement on Wednesday, SentinelOne ( S ) said it did not

expect the restrictions to materially affect its business.

Nevertheless, its share price dropped 7% on Thursday, sliding

more sharply than its cyber peers.

A cybersecurity executive told Reuters that by going after

someone as high-profile as his own former CISA chief, Trump was

cowing the industry into silence.

"If they are willing to crush Krebs, what do you think

they'll do to me or others like me?" he said, speaking on

condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Krebs did not respond to requests for comment, but reposted

on social media a statement he issued shortly after he was fired

in 2020: "Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today,

Secure Tomorrow."