This week an estimated 40,000 attendees are in San Francisco for RSA, one of the nation’s largest computer security conferences. But one group has stayed away — officials from the Trump administration, reports USA Today. “There’s been a noticeable absence of government security officials at RSA this year,” said J.J. Thompson, CEO of Rook Security in Indianapolis. In past years, the Obama administration was very engaged at RSA, with staff members speaking on panels, delivering keynote speeches and inviting partnerships with private firms.
The Trump administration had been widely expected to release an executive order on cybersecurity during the conference, but that hasn’t happened. While there were 41 government speakers at RSA this year, there are no senior level speakers from the Trump administration. RSA said that at the time its program was finalized, many of the new administration’s appointments were not selected. Invitations were extended to several of the new appointments, but they were unable to speak at this year’s conference, RSA said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.