Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative of CISA experiences significant staff reduction
JCDC Faces Staffing Shortage After Contract Expiration
The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), a key player in national cyber defense coordination, has been hit by a significant setback following the expiration of its contract with technology firm ICF on July 20, 2025. The expiration led to the loss of over 100 contractor support personnel, reducing the JCDC's workforce from more than 100 to about 10.
The JCDC, established by Congress in 2021, plays a crucial role in unifying cyber defense efforts among government and industry, facilitating rapid threat information sharing, planning joint defense operations, and responding in real time to cyber incidents. Its small federal staff heavily relies on contractors to execute its public-private cyber defense mission under CISA.
The loss of contractors has severely impacted the JCDC's operational capacity, hampering its ability to collaborate effectively with private sector partners, manage hundreds of partnerships across federal agencies, and carry out its day-to-day operations such as incident response coordination and threat information sharing. This reduction in support personnel may impede the JCDC’s capacity to orchestrate unified responses to major cyberattacks or to distribute actionable threat intelligence efficiently.
As of August 2025, there is no indication that the contract has been renewed or a replacement arrangement fully implemented to restore JCDC’s contractor workforce. The sudden reduction in support personnel remains a critical challenge for the program’s operational effectiveness.
Despite the staffing constraints, the JCDC continues its mission, producing resources such as the AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook earlier in 2025, showing ongoing efforts in developing cyber defense frameworks.
Contract Review and Expirations
In addition to the JCDC's ICF contract, 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 Nightwing and Peraton contracts are set to expire at the end of August if not renewed.
The CISA is currently reviewing its contracts to ensure they align with its core statutory mission and the priorities of the administration. The agency is focusing on returning to its core authorities and saving taxpayer dollars, as stated by CISA Director of Public Affairs, Marci McCarthy.
Ongoing Initiatives
Despite the challenges, the JCDC continues its partnerships with companies, other agencies, and foreign governments. It also coordinates real-time responses to major incidents and spearheads advisories on a wide range of topics. The JCDC's partnerships team, with only a few federal employees, manages relationships with over 100 agencies.
The JCDC leads detailed risk assessments for critical infrastructure sectors and spearheads advisories on a wide range of topics. It has lost more than 100 contractors, but it continues to produce guidance and collaborate, as shown by the AI cybersecurity playbook released in early 2025.
Table:
| Aspect | Status as of August 2025 | |------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | Contractor Workforce | Drastically reduced from 100+ to about 10 after ICF contract expiration on July 25, 2025[1] | | Federal Staff | Small number; rely heavily on contractors for operations[1] | | Operational Capacity | Severely impacted; collaborative and response efforts hampered[1][3] | | Contract Renewal Status | Not renewed as of August 2025; no public update on replacements[1] | | Ongoing Initiatives | Continues to produce guidance and collaborate, e.g., AI cybersecurity playbook released in early 2025[5] |
- The expiration of the JCDC's contract with ICF has led to a significant decrease in cybersecurity resources, making it challenging to safeguard privacy in the face of advancing technology.
- As the JCDC's operational capacity is severely impacted by the loss of contractors, it may struggle to effectively respond to cyber threats and share actionable threat intelligence in this rapidly advancing technological era.
