Ride the Lightning

Senate Unanimously Confirms First White House National Cyber Director

June 22, 2021

The Hill reported that the Senate unanimously confirmed, on June 17, former National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis as the first White House national cyber director.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) brought up his nomination for a vote through unanimous consent, with no senators objecting.

Inglis will be the first to serve as the White House cyber czar after the position was created as part of the most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It is an expansion of the previous White House cybersecurity coordinator role that was eliminated in 2018 under the Trump administration, a move which caused bipartisan backlash at the time.

“It will not stop of its own accord, it is not a fire raging across the prairie that once it’s consumed the fuel it will simply stop and we can simply wait for that moment, we must stand in,” Inglis testified during the nomination hearing, discussing cyber threats. “It will never go away completely, but we can bring it down, we can bring it to heel significantly.”

Inglis will coordinate federal cybersecurity policy and will be the key federal leader tying together agencies, also serving as a point of contact between Congress and the White House.

The creation of the national cyber director position was a key recommendation by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a group established by Congress in 2018 to create recommendations to protect the U.S. from cyber threats.

Now the challenge is to get Inglis’ office funded – and with a staff!

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email:  Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
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