President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate First National Cyber Director and New CISA Director, among other Positions

Yesterday President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate key members of his administration to lead on national security, homeland security, and law enforcement at the White House and across key agencies. Two of the positions include the National Cyber Director, which is new, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director, a role in which Brandon Wales has served in an acting capacity since November. Biden’s nominee for National Cyber Director is Chris Inglis, who served for 28 years at the National Security Agency (NSA), retiring in 2014 after almost eight years as deputy director. In the years since he has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and has been on the boards of FedEx and Huntington Bancshares, which has given insight into cyber issues in the private sector. Jen Easterly, Biden’s pick for CISA Director, also has experience at the NSA, where she served as an intelligence officer. She also helped stand up U.S. Cyber Command more than a decade ago and has recent experience in the private sector, having worked at Morgan Stanley since 2017. Both nominees, who are highly regarded in cyber policy circles, are expected to face smooth confirmations. “If confirmed, Chris and Jen will add deep expertise, experience and leadership to our world-class cyber team,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Read more at the Washington Post.