Jen Easterly

Jen Easterly
2nd Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 13, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byChris Krebs
Personal details
Born
Jennie Margaret Koch[1]
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
Pembroke College, Oxford (MA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1990–2010
RankColonel

Jen Easterly is an American intelligence officer and former military official who is serving as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration. She was confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate on July 12, 2021.[2][3]

Early life and education

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The daughter of an enlisted Vietnam War veteran,[4] Easterly was raised in Potomac, Maryland and attended Winston Churchill High School and graduated as valedictorian in 1986. She earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy in 1990 and a Master of Arts in politics, philosophy, and economics from Pembroke College, Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.[5][6][7][8]

Army career

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Easterly served in the United States Army for twenty years and was an assistant professor of social sciences at the United States Military Academy.[6] She was approved for promotion to major in 2000, lieutenant colonel in 2006 and colonel in 2012.[9][10][11]

From 2002 to 2004, she was executive assistant to the National Security advisor.[12][13] From 2004 to 2006, she was a battalion executive officer and brigade operations officer in the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, a subordinate unit of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command. Easterly was deployed to Baghdad as chief of the cryptologic services group for the National Security Agency. She also worked for NSA's elite Tailored Access Operations.[14]

From 2009 to 2010, Easterly served on the United States Cyber Command, which she helped establish.[14] From 2010 to 2011, Easterly was a cyber advisor for the NSA stationed in Kabul. After retiring from the Army as a lieutenant colonel, she served as deputy director of the NSA for counterterrorism from May 2011 to October 2013.[15]

Post-Army career

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From October 2013 to February 2016, Easterly was a special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council. After the end of the Obama administration, Easterly joined Morgan Stanley as global head of the company's cybersecurity division.[16][17]

Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

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In April 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Easterly to serve as the second Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.[18] An uncontroversial nominee, Easterly received general praise for her qualifications from senators and media outlets. She was confirmed by voice vote[19] after being temporarily held up for outside reasons.[14][3] Easterly was sworn into office on July 13, 2021.[20]

As director, Easterly argued that U.S. intelligence sharing efforts with Ukrainian government officials ahead of the 2022 Russian invasion should be a model for combating China-based hacking groups.[21] In 2023, Easterly stated that potential cybersecurity threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI) development meant that the government should implement systemic safeguards.[22]

Awards

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Personal life

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Easterly is the daughter of Noel Clinton Koch and June Quint Koch. She married attorney Jason Tighe Easterly in Potomac, Maryland on April 3, 2004.[1] They have a son.[25] Judge Catharine Easterly of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is her sister-in-law.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Weddings/Celebrations: Jennie Koch, Jason Easterly". The New York Times. April 4, 2004. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  2. ^ "PN420 – Nomination of Jen Easterly for Department of Homeland Security, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". Congress.gov. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  3. ^ a b Ropek, Lucas (July 12, 2021). "CISA Gets a New Director Amidst Ongoing Ransomware Dumpster Fire". Gizmodo.com. Gizmodo. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Lizzie O'Leary (October 20, 2024). How Secure Is Our Election? Why you can be confident in America’s electoral integrity, even as confidence in American democracy is plummeting. Slate.
  5. ^ "Transcript: Securing Cyberspace with Jen Easterly". The Washington Post. 2021-10-05. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  6. ^ a b "Jen Easterly". New America (organization). Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  7. ^ "32 Americans Awarded Rhodes Scholarships". The New York Times. December 11, 1989. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  8. ^ Armstrong, Jenice (December 16, 1989). "Four from D.C. Area Make the Rhodes Scholarship Grade". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  9. ^ "PN1247 — Army — 106th Congress (1999-2000)". U.S. Congress. October 6, 2000. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  10. ^ "PN1883 — Army — 109th Congress (2005-2006)". U.S. Congress. September 29, 2006. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  11. ^ "PN1278 — Army — 112th Congress (2011-2012)". U.S. Congress. February 17, 2012. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  12. ^ "Biden Beefs Up Cyber Team with NSA, DHS Veterans in Key Roles at White House, CISA, DHS". Homeland Security Today. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  13. ^ Rice, Condoleezza (September 2012). No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington. Broadway Paperbacks. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-307-98678-8.
  14. ^ a b c Geller, Eric (July 12, 2021). "Senate confirms Jen Easterly as head of U.S. cyber agency". politico.com. POLITICO. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  15. ^ "Jen Easterly's Mission-Driven Purpose". Morgan Stanley. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  16. ^ "Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on National Cyber Director and CISA Director Nominations". The White House. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  17. ^ "Jennifer Easterly". National Security Institute. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  18. ^ Geller, Eric (2021-04-12). "Biden names former NSA officials to key cybersecurity positions". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  19. ^ "PN420 — Jen Easterly — Department of Homeland Security".
  20. ^ "Statement from New CISA Director Jen Easterly | CISA". www.cisa.gov. 13 July 2021.
  21. ^ Vasquez, Christian (2023-06-12). "Ukraine information sharing a model for countering China, top cyber official says". CyberScoop. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  22. ^ "AI threat demands new approach to security designs -US official". Reuters. 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  23. ^ a b "Jen Easterly | CISA". Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  24. ^ "Awards & Fellows". jamesfoleyfoundation.org. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  25. ^ "Jen Easterly". Aspen Global Leadership Network. The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  26. ^ "Obituary: Harry Watkey Easterly, Jr". Richmond Times-Dispatch. June 16, 2005. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  27. ^ "Obituary: Mary Easterly". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 21, 2018. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
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