Chris Krebs leaves SentinelOne after Trump memo, saying ‘this is my fight’

Former CISA Director Chris Krebs has left a senior position at cybersecurity company SentinelOne to fight back against the Trump administration’s investigation into his activities atop the federal agency.

Saying “this is my fight, not the company’s,” he announced the decision Wednesday to fellow employees in an email he also shared on LinkedIn.

In a memo on April 9, President Donald Trump revoked Krebs’ security clearance and ordered a broad probe into “any instances where Krebs’ or CISA’s conduct appears to be contrary to the administration’s commitment to free speech and ending federal censorship,” particularly during the 2020 presidential campaign.

SentinelOne, which has federal contracts, was also singled out in Trump’s memo. The company said it had fewer than 10 other employees with security clearances. Krebs equated the conflict to what the administration has done to some top law firms the president sees as adversaries.

“It’s about the government pulling its levers to punish dissent, to go after corporate interests and corporate relationships,” Krebs told the Wall Street Journal in his first interview since Trump’s move. Reuters noted last week that other large cybersecurity companies have been largely silent about Trump’s memo.

Trump appointed Krebs to lead CISA in 2018 and then fired him in 2020 after he said there had been no technological issues with the presidential election. At SentinelOne, Krebs was chief intelligence and public policy officer.

“This will require my complete focus and energy,” Krebs said in the email to SentinelOne co-workers. “It’s a fight for democracy, for freedom of speech, for the rule of law. I’m prepared to give it everything I’ve got.”