Cyber security decision makers and leaders in the UK are increasingly alert to the cascading effects of cyber security cuts emanating from the United States government, with federal cutbacks to key Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) programmes and the disbanding of the Cyber Safety Review Board resonating far beyond Washington DC.
In a new report titled Shifting Ground: Federal cyber priorities reshape security strategy, Swimlane, an AI security specialist based in Denver, Colorado, said that federal cuts were “rewriting” security investment plans.
It polled cyber leaders in both the UK and the US, and in a possible sign of how cautiously Trump’s presidency and policy decisions are being viewed among America’s core allies found that among UK-based respondents, found the vast majority were feeling uneasy.
A total of 79% of UK-based respondents to the study said that US cyber security instability was making them more cautious about their relationships with American suppliers.
Meanwhile, 43% of Brits said they had reassessed their existing partnerships with US entities, and 29% had either delayed or cancelled contracts with them.
Over half, approximately 53%, said that as a result of this they were turning to homegrown cyber providers, or those coming out of the European Union (EU).
“As many seasoned cyber security professionals will tell you, this industry runs in cycles of reaction, regulation, retrenchment and reinvestment,” said Cody Cornell, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Swimlane. “Right now, we’re in a period of reorganisation and a changing regulatory environment.
“But in the face of shrinking federal support, most organisations aren’t standing still. They’re adapting, taking ownership of their resilience strategies and building internal frameworks to maintain readiness, no matter what’s happening in Washington. This isn’t just about surviving the current climate. It’s about redefining what resilient security leadership looks like moving forward.”
Changing plans
More widely, Swimlane found that 63% of respondents said recent or anticipated CISA budget cuts were affecting their team structure and staffing plans, 46% said uncertainty around federal cyber funding was forcing them to reduce their planned investments, and 57% said that shifting public sector support had delayed key security investments.
Swimlane said that the vast majority of organisations had experienced security budget or resource-related changes since Trump’s inauguration in January heralded a mass shakeup of the US political status quo, and over half lamented that they were having to do more work with less support, particularly in areas like threat detection and monitoring.
This is now leading to a situation where more and more organisations are taking steps to maintain operational resilience amid cuts to federal support – 91% said this was the case – with many developing new internal frameworks independent of official guidance, and relying more on private sector threat intel specialists.
“While the traditional backbone of intelligence sharing, incident coordination and funding has evolved, security professionals are stepping up to bridge the gaps and drive innovative solutions,” said Michael Lyborg, CISO at Swimlane.
“The result is increased exposure to risk, diminished threat visibility and mounting strain on already overstretched security operations. In this new era, private organisations must be prepared to stand alone and prioritise proactive, scalable defences to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats.”
