CISA Concludes 10 Emergency Directives Following Federal Cyber Audits
▼ Summary
– CISA has retired ten Emergency Directives from 2019-2024 after a review determined their security objectives had been met.
– This retirement reflects a shift from temporary emergency mandates to standardized, ongoing controls for managing cyber-risk across federal agencies.
– The specific vulnerabilities addressed by these directives are now managed under the standing Binding Operational Directive 22-01 and CISA’s KEV catalog.
– The closed directives covered threats including DNS tampering, Windows vulnerabilities, the SolarWinds compromise, and a Microsoft email breach.
– CISA states it will continue issuing Emergency Directives for urgent threats but emphasizes long-term risk reduction through standardized practices and secure-by-design principles.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has formally closed ten Emergency Directives issued between 2019 and 2024, marking the largest single retirement of such mandates. This action follows a comprehensive review confirming that the required security objectives have been successfully met. The closure signals a strategic shift in federal cybersecurity, moving from reactive emergency measures toward more standardized, ongoing risk management protocols.
This update stems from CISA’s assessment that the necessary remediation actions have been fully executed by Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies. Alternatively, the requirements have been integrated into Binding Operational Directive 22-01, which now serves as the primary framework for addressing known exploited vulnerabilities. This standing directive provides a consistent mechanism for agencies to identify and patch widespread security flaws, reducing the need for temporary emergency orders.
Emergency Directives are designed as urgent responses to imminent cyber threats, remaining active only as long as the critical danger persists. According to CISA, sustained coordination with federal partners has successfully mitigated the underlying risks. This collaboration has helped embed stronger cybersecurity practices into daily operations, decreasing dependence on short-term mandates. The agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, stated that closing these directives demonstrates CISA’s dedication to operational teamwork across the federal government, strengthening national cyber defenses through shared effort.
Several of the retired directives were connected to specific critical vulnerabilities, commonly tracked as CVEs. These threats are now managed through CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, a centralized system that standardizes how agencies detect and remediate flaws actively being used by attackers. This catalog represents a more mature and systematic approach to vulnerability management.
The list of directives now retired includes measures addressing DNS infrastructure tampering, vulnerabilities in Windows Netlogon, and major incidents involving SolarWinds Orion, Microsoft Exchange servers, Pulse Connect Secure VPNs, and the Windows Print Spooler. It also includes directives for VMware vulnerabilities and the nation-state compromise of Microsoft’s corporate email systems. CISA noted that three of these, specifically those dealing with DNS tampering, SolarWinds, and the Microsoft email breach, were closed because their original requirements no longer matched the current threat landscape or modern operational practices.
While CISA will continue to issue Emergency Directives for acute threats, the agency stresses that long-term risk reduction depends on institutionalizing secure practices. The future of federal cybersecurity increasingly relies on standardized operational directives and the adoption of secure-by-design principles in the development and procurement of technology systems. This proactive foundation aims to prevent vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, building a more resilient digital infrastructure for the nation.
(Source: Info Security)
