Deafening Silence from the Cybersecurity Industry

Executive Order as Retribution and Inversion of Reality

• Many commenters see the EO targeting the former CISA director as naked punishment for publicly rejecting the “stolen election” narrative.
• The White House “fact sheet” labeling that stance “false and baseless” is viewed as Orwellian (black=white) and as effectively a personal bill of attainder in spirit, even if technically legal.
• A minority argue the EO rides on earlier Democratic missteps around “misinformation” efforts and social-media coordination, now weaponized as justification for harsher, more authoritarian action.

Cybersecurity Industry’s “Silence”

• Consensus that large cyber vendors and contractors are publicly quiet to avoid losing federal business or drawing DOGE/administration ire.
• Some in the field say there is extensive expert criticism (blogs, podcasts, newsletters) but it’s drowned out or lacks amplification by major outlets.
• Another line: companies’ true in‑group loyalty is to revenue, not to a professional security “community.”

Authoritarian Drift and Executive Power

• Broad worry that legality is becoming irrelevant: executive orders treated as de facto law, courts ignored, regulatory agencies politicized, and due process eroded (including allegations of rendition and “public enemy” designations).
• Debate over Congress’s long‑term abdication to the executive and agencies, Chevron’s demise, and the difficulty of enforcing court rulings when police/military won’t.
• Some raise civil war; others strongly reject that as failure, urging institutional and electoral work instead.

Public Apathy, Media, and Information Ecosystem

• Many describe friends/colleagues treating events as reality TV, caring only about immediate financial impacts.
• Explanations include: survival‑mode economics, decades of outrage inflation (“boy who cried wolf”), partisan media ecosystems, and social-media algorithms that reward fear and rage.
• Several note voters often support an imagined version of the president, sustained by propaganda, rather than the observable reality.

Morality, Support Base, and Social Divisions

• Deep dismay that ~40–50% approval persists despite overtly vindictive actions; some attribute this to racism/xenophobia, desire to “punish” political and professional classes, or enjoyment of others’ suffering.
• Others emphasize ignorance and information poverty over malice, especially in overworked, poorly educated populations.

What To Do, and the Cost of Speaking

• Proposed responses: lawsuits, pressuring Congress, state/local resistance, election work, and clarifying that laws override EOs.
• Countervailing themes: fear of retaliation, sense that protest is performative and easily dismissed as partisan, and reluctance to sacrifice comfort.
• Multiple comments invoke “First they came…” and “you can’t be neutral on a moving train,” framing silence as morally fraught but psychologically understandable.

DOGE and Structural Security Risks

• Many initially assumed the headline referred to DOGE: mass layoffs, counterintelligence vulnerabilities, alleged data exfiltration from federal systems, and Musk‑linked disinformation about Social Security.
• Some see DOGE as emblematic of a larger espionage and institutional‑capture danger that the cyber industry is also failing to confront.

Meta and Article Takedown

• Commenters note the Forbes piece was removed and preserved only via archives; one suggests it reads partly LLM‑generated.
• For some, the removal itself reinforces concerns about pressure on media and the narrowing space for dissent.