jik<p><strong>March 1 news roundup</strong></p><p>Here’s a bunch of news coverage from the past few days that I’ve been too busy to collect before now.</p><p>Let’s lead off with the most important items:</p><ol><li>Late Friday night, GSA fired everyone at 18F and shut down the entire agency. This is a huge loss to the federal government. Please read why from the people who were fired <a href="https://18f.org/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in their own words</a>. Share this out to your networks!</li><li><a href="https://perfectunion.us/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">More Perfect Union</a> released a superb video interview with me about the impact of my firing on VA and the impact of DOGE on the government in general. They’ve published it on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/moreperfectunion.bsky.social/post/3lj45ohbx7s2t" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BlueSky</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@moreperfectunion/video/7475783512667229470" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pSy2dDKB4Wg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Youtube</a>, <a href="https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1894836495749464113" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>1, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/perfectunion/reel/DGi04T3O75M/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/600379902830276" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.2 Please watch and share this interview! (<a href="https://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/More-Perfect-Union-Instagram-reel.mp4" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive copy]</a>)</li><li>The AP released a video prepared from their interview with me about my firing at the same time as their print article. Newsweek <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGgV99wpIyd/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">released the interview on Instagram</a> (if you’ve seen this video released anywhere else, let me know!). Watch and share! (<a href="https://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AP-Newsweek-reel.mp4" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive copy]</a>)</li><li>NextGov/FCW ran an <a href="https://www.nextgov.com/people/2025/02/veterans-affairs-loses-cybersecurity-migration-project-lead-after-doge-layoffs/403299/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article about a major VA.gov migration project</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/BMibk" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) which is going to face significant turbulence and delays because I was fired and the other USDSer I was leading the project with resigned as part of the group resignation from USDS.</li><li>An interview with one of my USDS colleagues about the group resignation of 21 USDSers was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/nx-s1-5309448/former-doge-staffer-explains-her-decision-to-quit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">broadcast on All Things Considered</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/GGSar" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) and then <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/1234145488/doge-work-could-cross-extreme-ethical-and-legal-lines-says-former-employee" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shared on the Consider This podcast</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/LFMKT" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>).</li></ol><p>I want to reiterate why I’m doing all these interviews and media appearances. It’s not to make a name for myself, that’s for sure; I would really rather be living a quiet life, mostly in the shadows, the way I always have. But someone needs to speak out, because it’s important for people to know things:</p><ul><li>American Veterans need to know that the privacy of their data at VA, and therefore their own safety, is at risk because the current administration doesn’t care about information security and is firing the people who do.</li><li>More broadly, everyone living in the United States needs to know that:<ul><li>DOGE’s data spelunking across the federal government puts everyone, not just veterans, at great risk of harm, because it is increasing the likelihood that people’s personal data will be stolen and virtually guaranteeing that it will be abused by the Trump administration to harm people; and</li><li>the mass firings across many agencies are endangering critical services that Americans rely upon, as well as getting rid of the very people who are making the improvements to government that DOGE claimed was their mission.</li></ul></li><li>Simply put, the firings and illicit access to data are going to bring severe harm to millions of people in the United States and all over the world.</li></ul><p>Let’s keep our eye on the ball, folks: the firings and the messing with data need to stop, and the only way that’s going to happen is if all Americans, but especially federal workers being tasked with carrying out DOGE’s illegal and harmful orders, fight back.</p><p>OK, stepping off the soapbox now, let’s get on with the rest of the media roundup.</p><ul><li>The New York Post ran <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/25/us-news/more-than-20-federal-techies-quit-to-protest-doge-cuts-to-critical-public-services/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/HHLH2" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) about the group resignation of 21 USDSers and mentioned my earlier firing briefly in the second-to-last paragraph.</li><li>A number of web sites picked up the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/veterans-affairs-cybersecurity-fired-federal-workers-e90eed5107537a910fe9ab979edba72f" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AP News story</a> about my firing. These include:<ul><li>HealthLeaders ran a <a href="https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/va-fired-cybersecurity-chief-says-data-risk" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">short blurb</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/pm4nx" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) which pointed at the full article.</li><li>Newslooks published a <a href="https://www.newslooks.com/fired-va-cybersecurity-expert-warns-of-veteran-data-risks/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rewrite of the AP article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/87G4q" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) and barely gave it credit. I suspect GenAI was involved in the rewrite.</li><li>The Manila Times published via MSN ran <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-ph/health/other/fired-cybersecurity-chief-for-veterans-affairs-site-warns-that-health-and-financial-data-is-at-risk/ar-AA1zMYvr" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/QMZJV" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) unmodified (I think).</li><li>The Canadian Press published via MSN also ran <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/fired-cybersecurity-chief-for-veterans-affairs-site-warns-that-health-and-financial-data-is-at-risk/ar-AA1zMAWq" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/bWW19" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) unmodified.</li><li>TIME magazine also appears to have run <a href="https://time.com/7261801/va-veterans-affairs-cybersecurity-risk-health-financial-data-jonathan-kamens/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/nqd9M" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) unmodified.</li></ul></li><li>AlterNet ran <a href="https://www.alternet.org/fired-federal-worker-doge/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/Tr0qV" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) based on my <a href="https://blog.kamens.us/2025/02/26/feb-26-live-cnn-interview-about-va-gov-cybersecurity/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN interview</a>.</li><li>The “Alt USDS” social media presence shared my CNN interview on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:fuovrvjiloafdym65x3oloqc/post/3lj53z3efrk2o" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://x.com/Alt_USDS/status/1894973464760746080" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGkFO_pxIK4/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> (archive links: <a href="https://archive.ph/Z9bm4" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[Bluesky]</a>, <a href="https://archive.ph/HOt2z" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[Twitter]</a>, <a href="https://archive.ph/cE7vo" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[Instagram]</a>).</li><li>Several outlets ran the AP article about the group resignation, in which I am mentioned briefly:<ul><li><a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/02/25/trump-doge-resignations/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">San Diego Union-Tribune</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/Rcq8O" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>)</li><li><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-doge-resignations-1.7467848" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBC News</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/jXKAf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>)</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-02-25/federal-technology-staffers-resign-rather-than-help-musk-and-doge" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LA Times</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/ammq5" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>)</li></ul></li><li>Not the world’s biggest outlet 😉, but the Daily Record in Ellensburg, WA printed an <a href="https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/ap_news/hitech/ap-technology-summarybrief-at-9-29-p-m-est/article_cda7b0cd-5891-591f-8137-89609a33518d.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AP tech brief</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/NiKHi" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) which summarized both the AP article about my firing and the one about the group resignation.</li><li>Newsmax ran an <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/doug-collins-newsmax-veterans-affairs/2025/02/26/id/1200575/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a> (<a href="https://archive.ph/lhncc" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[archive link]</a>) about VA Secretary Doug Collins pushing back on my claim that VA data is at risk because of my firing. His justification for why the data are safe is specious because the question is issued isn’t how many cybersecurity people are employed by VA overall, it’s how many cybersecurity people are employed <em>to protect VA.gov</em>, which was my job. I was the only one, and they haven’t replaced me, and they’re probably not going to.</li></ul> <p>Notes:</p><p>1They can’t make me call it X.</p><p>2I wish we didn’t have to post content on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to get the word out, but the reality is that we’re trying to change the system from within it, and to do that, we need to go where the people are.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/18f/" target="_blank">#18F</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/doge/" target="_blank">#DOGE</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/gsa/" target="_blank">#GSA</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/more-perfect-union/" target="_blank">#MorePerfectUnion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/usds/" target="_blank">#USDS</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.kamens.us/tag/va/" target="_blank">#VA</a></p>