Congress Creates CISA as Lead Federal Cybersecurity Agency

President Trump signed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-278), redesignating the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate as CISA. The law gave the new agency statutory authority to coordinate cybersecurity and physical security across federal networks and private critical infrastructure. Christopher Krebs became the first CISA Director, charged with protecting power grids, water systems, election infrastructure, and federal networks from cyberattacks.