Inglis Retires as National Cyber Director Ahead of Biden’s Cybersecurity EO

The
first-ever
National
Cyber
Director
for
the
US,
Chris
Inglis,
has
stepped
down
from
his
post,
announcing
that
he’s
leaving
the
public
sector
behind
after
nearly
30
years
working
at
federal
agencies.

Inglis,
former
NSA
deputy
director,
was
unanimously
confirmed
in
2021
as

Biden’s
top
adviser
in
all
things
cybersecurity.
The
newly
created
role
involved
the
coordination
and
implementation
of
national
cyber
policy
and
strategy,
working
closely
with

CISA
director
Jen
Easterly,
and
facilitating
national
cyber
incident
response
efforts.

He
most
recently
worked
to
craft
the
government’s
National
Cyber
Strategy,
which
President
Biden
is
expected
to
announce
in
the
coming
days.
It

reportedly
goes
much
further
than
previous
cybersecurity
policies
and
executive
orders,
according
to
The
Washington
Post,
which
obtained
a
draft
copy. 

There
are
two
notable
advancements
in
the
draft:
implementing
a
set
of
mandatory
regulations
and
instituting
a
“hack-back”
policy
wherein
the
full
brunt
of
the
US
cyber
arsenal
can
be
used
to
either
retaliate
for
or
preempt
cyber
incursions
by
threat
groups
and
nation-states
against
US
interests
and
assets,
including
private-sector
companies.

“Today
I
am
stepping
down
from
my
role
as
the
Nation’s
inaugural
National
Cyber
Director
at
@ONCD.
I
do
so
with
the
utmost
gratitude
to
@POTUS,
@VP,
and
Congress
for
giving
me
the
opportunity
to
serve
in
this
Administration,”

Inglis
tweeted
this
week.
“Mr.
President,
thank
you
for
placing
your
trust
in
me
and
for
placing
such
a
high
priority
on
providing
a
safe,
equitable,
and
resilient
cyberspace
for
all.”