The Collaborative unit of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) experiences a significant loss in workforce

The Collaborative unit of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) experiences a significant loss in workforce

Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative Faces Operational Challenges After Contract Lapse

The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), a key public-private partnership led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is currently facing operational difficulties following the expiration of its contract with technology firm ICF on July 25, 2025. This sudden loss of contractor support has resulted in a significant reduction of personnel, from over 100 to just 10.

The JCDC, established under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, has been instrumental in real-time government coordination on cyber threats, risk assessments, exercises, and the issuance of guidance documents such as the AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook. The program's heavy dependence on contractors for essential functions like writing memos, scheduling, and agency liaison work has made the contract lapse a major impediment.

The loss of over 90% of contractors has seriously hindered JCDC's day-to-day operational capacity, including its ability to coordinate responses to cyber incidents, manage partnerships across numerous federal agencies, and facilitate private-sector collaboration for major cyber threat responses. This has likely diminished the capability to unify private-sector and government efforts during significant cyberattacks and reduced the ability to collect and disseminate threat intelligence.

Despite these challenges, the JCDC remains conceptually and administratively intact as a DHS-led initiative aiming to bolster U.S. cybersecurity resilience through trusted partnerships and information sharing with industries and international allies. The agency is focused on returning to its core authorities and eliminating waste, as stated by CISA Director of Public Affairs Marci McCarthy.

However, the future of JCDC's operational capacity depends on the restoration of contractor support. CISA is waiting for approval from the Secretary of Homeland Security's office to extend the ICF contract for a year. If approved, the remaining ICF workers will be able to stay until the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, 2025.

Other contracts that could expire soon include Peraton's Cyber Threat Detection Analysis work, Nightwing's Engagement Support Services work, and an arrangement with Sandia National Laboratories to produce defensive tools and risk assessment resources. The loss of these contracts could pose further jeopardy to the JCDC's operations.

In the past, the JCDC has led detailed risk assessments for critical infrastructure sectors, spearheaded advisories on a wide range of topics, planned for future threats, analysed ongoing attack campaigns, and published defensive guidance. The collaborative has also coordinated the government's real-time responses to major incidents.

The JCDC has partnered with companies, other agencies, and foreign governments for various purposes. It has not been publicly disclosed what steps CISA is taking to avoid any operational impact to its mission as a result of contract lapses.

In summary, the JCDC is still active but severely impacted after ICF contractor support abruptly ended in late July 2025. The loss of over 90% of contractors has hampered collaboration, threat intelligence sharing, and operational capacity. The JCDC continues its mission under CISA but depends heavily on restoring contractor support to operate at full strength.

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