CISA legislative affairs chief Kate DiEmidio was most recently the head government affairs official at industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos and was previously a policy analyst and senior adviser at DHS. Sydney Phoenix / DHS
CISA’s head of legislative affairs to soon depart
Kate DiEmidio, who most recently served as the top policy executive at Dragos, is leaving voluntarily after spending three months in the role.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s legislative affairs chief Kate DiEmidio plans to depart from her role on Friday, according to a U.S. official and a second person familiar with her plans. An agency spokesperson confirmed the move.
DiEmidio’s departure comes just three months after she joined the cyber defense agency. She was not pushed out and is leaving voluntarily. Both people spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about the nature of her plans. It’s not immediately clear what her next steps are.
The U.S. official said DiEmidio “remains dedicated to the critical infrastructure mission and supports the president’s agenda and the administration.”
Prior to joining CISA, DiEmidio was most recently the head government affairs official at industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos, with past policy and government affairs experience at SecurityScorecard and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. She also has prior federal experience, having served as a policy analyst and senior adviser in the Department of Homeland Security, where CISA is housed.
Her departure comes as Congress prepares to bring Sean Plankey up to a vote to be CISA director.
Plankey advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee last month but still faces a possible hurdle from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who said in April that he intends to block his confirmation and only lift the hold once CISA releases a 2022 report on telecom industry security vulnerabilities. CISA said last month it plans to release the report publicly, though the exact timeframe for that isn’t clear.