The White House is considering a former executive director of the National Security Agency to become the next national cyber director, according to two people familiar with the process.
(Bloomberg) — The White House is considering a former executive director of the National Security Agency to become the next national cyber director, according to two people familiar with the process.
Harry Coker, who also spent more than a decade at the Central Intelligence Agency, has emerged as a potential candidate to become the nation’s second cyber director, the people said. Coker didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The new cyber director will replace Chris Inglis, who resigned earlier this year following clashes with another top cyber official, Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology.
The acting national cyber director, Kemba Walden, withdrew her nomination after being told in recent weeks that she wouldn’t be considered for a permanent role because of personal debt issues, the Washington Post reported.
Emilie Simons, a White House spokesperson, said Walden had demonstrated “strong leadership” during her time in the role and that the Biden administration greatly appreciate her vision and service.
The White House said it had no personnel announcements to make at this time.
The selection process for the next cyber director comes at a moment of heightened concern over hacking from Russia and China and — according to cybersecurity experts — a resurgence in ransom cyberattacks by criminal groups. In addition, the cyber director’s office is trying to implement an ambitious national cyber strategy.
Walden declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg News. The exact nature of Walden’s debt is unknown. Bloomberg News requested Walden’s financial disclosure forms but hasn’t yet received a copy.
Walden was highly regarded by many lawmakers and cybersecurity experts, some of whom described her apparent disqualification over mortgage and private school debts as a head scratcher.
“If it’s gambling debt I get it,” said James Lewis, director of the strategic technologies program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, adding most people had thought Walden was a “shoo-in” for the role. Mortgage and private school debt wasn’t uncommon among administration officials, he said, adding that Walden, a former Microsoft attorney, could return to the private sector if necessary.
“She could easily double her income,” Lewis said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
An administration official told Bloomberg in a statement that having debt is not a barrier to service in the Biden administration. The official added that the administration is restricted in what it can say publicly out of respect for a candidate’s privacy — even if the candidate shares information with reporters or allies.
The vetting process is meant to assess whether a candidate has any issues that would prove disqualifying in a Senate confirmation process, the official added, saying it was all done with the ultimate goal of getting someone confirmed.
The national cyber director’s office was created by Congress following a recommendation from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which was set up to find ways to protect the US from a major cyberattack. The law, signed by then President Donald Trump in January 2021, says the national cyber director would serve as the “principal advisor to the President on cybersecurity policy and strategy.”
From the start, some worried that the cyber director job overlapped with another senior cyber post in the White House and had competing lines of authority.
By the time Inglis, a former Air Force pilot and NSA veteran, started his new job July 2021, Neuberger had already been handling major cyber issues.
Clashes between the two were the primary reason Inglis resigned earlier this year, according to five people familiar with his thinking. Neuberger has said the reports of discord had “little if any impact” on the administration’s efforts to improve cybersecurity.
Coker spent more than 20 years in the Navy before going to work at the CIA, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also a senior fellow at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, and an operating partner at C5 Capital, a “specialist venture capital firm that invests in cybersecurity, space and energy security,” according to the firm’s website and Coker’s LinkedIn profile.
He also developed a good working relationship with Neuberger when they were at the NSA, he said previously. Both Neuberger and Coker arrived at the NSA after pursuing careers elsewhere first, and he told Bloomberg News earlier this year that the NSA was often tough on outsiders.
He described Neuberger as very smart, hardworking and someone who always got results. “We could always count on Anne,” Coker said.
–With assistance from Jordan Fabian.
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