Experts Torn on Role of National Cyber Director – By Mariam Baksh (Nextgov) / April 7 2021
Former officials agree someone needs to coordinate the work of various government entities but weighed pros and cons to the position being located within the National Security Council.
Former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs is breaking with lawmakers and other cybersecurity professionals who are pushing the Biden administration to identify a national cyber director.
The position was created by a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021, but the administration has yet to name an individual to the post, which would operate with a staff of about 70 personnel within the Executive Office of the President but outside of the National Security Council. The national cyber director would advise the president and the NSC while engaging with Congress and the private sector.
“There are some things that structurally the National Security Council is not really well set up to do, and two of them, in particular, are interacting with the private sector and interacting with Congress, which is actually something that you very much need to be doing in cybersecurity policy,” Michael Daniel, president and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance, said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Wednesday.
