President Joe Biden on Monday said he would nominate Chris Inglis to be the first National Cyber Director, a new position requiring Senate confirmation that will advise the president on cybersecurity issues and lead coordination across the country, including government and private sector, on cyber strategy and policy.
Inglis retired from the Defense Department in Jan. 2014 and spent 28 of his 41 years of federal service with the National Security Agency, beginning his career at the electronic spy agency as a computer scientist within the National Computer Security Center. He also did tours in information assurance, policy, time-sensitive operations, and signals intelligence operations, according to his biography posted on the U.S. Naval Academy website.
Inglis is a distinguished visiting professor in Cyber Security Studies at the academy.
In 1997, Inglis was promoted to NSA's senior executive service, holding various leadership assignments, including as a visiting professor of Computer Science at the U.S. Military Academy and later as U.S. Special Liaison to the United Kingdom.
The nomination of Inglis followed closely the nomination of Jen Easterly to lead the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The White House already has a key cyber security advisor on the staff of the National Security Council, Anne Neuberger, deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology. The administration hasn't said how it will ensure that National Cyber Director and Neuberger's roles will be distinct.
Establishment of the National Cyber Director was a key recommendation of the 2020 bipartisan Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which called for the position to serve as the president's principal cyber advisor and main coordinating point within the White House for cybersecurity leadership.
Inglis was a commissioner on the Solarium Commission. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1976 and served nine years of active duty with the Air Force and 21 in the Air National Guard. He is also a managing director at Paladin Capital.