The ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has left the nation's top cybersecurity agency critically understaffed at a time of heightened threats from Iran-linked hackers.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Acting Director Nick Andersen warned Congress that cyber risks against the United States escalate each day the funding lapse continues. "At some point, the compounding risk within this dynamic threat landscape is going to cause real damage to the American people," Andersen stated in testimony last week. CISA currently faces about 1,000 job vacancies, with 60 percent of its staff furloughed or suspended during the shutdown, limiting proactive assessments, partnerships, and threat prevention efforts.

The shutdown, which began on February 14, 2026, after Congress failed to pass funding legislation, has furloughed the majority of CISA's workforce. Only about 38 percent of its 2,341 employees, roughly 888 staff, continued operations initially, with further cuts reducing active personnel to around 800. This has forced the cancellation of critical cybersecurity assessments for infrastructure owners, simulation exercises, stakeholder trainings, and international engagements, impairing the agency's ability to detect and mitigate imminent threats.

These vulnerabilities coincide with escalated cyber activity from Iran-backed groups amid U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran. On March 11, pro-Iran hackers claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on Stryker Corp., a Michigan-based medical device manufacturer. The assault crippled the company's global networks, wiped data, and stole 50 gigabytes of information, with systems remaining offline days later. Republicans, including Rep. Vince Fong, highlighted the incident as evidence of shutdown risks, noting that CISA's degraded operations leave U.S. infrastructure exposed to such state-sponsored attacks from Iran, China, and Russia.

"The fact that we have our cybersecurity agency not operating at full strength is very concerning," Fong said. "These are our infrastructure. This is our American lives and security that has been degraded." House Homeland Security Committee Republicans have repeatedly urged Democrats to end the impasse, arguing the shutdown jeopardizes defenses against rising cyberattacks targeting hospitals, water systems, and other critical sectors.

DHS has warned that prolonged lapses hinder mission-critical procurement and operational planning, creating "increased areas of weakness" in cyberspace protections. CISA has already lost about one-third of its workforce since the start of the Trump administration, exacerbating the strain. Experts anticipate further Iranian disruptive attacks on U.S. financial sectors, businesses, and infrastructure as retaliation.

As the shutdown enters its second month today, with over 100,000 DHS workers unpaid, pressure mounts on lawmakers to resolve the funding dispute. Congressional recess has delayed negotiations, leaving critical security functions in limbo amid an active threat environment.