CNN
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One of President Joe Biden’s most senior cybersecurity advisers is set to step down within the next two months, three people familiar with the decision told CNN.
With decades of experience in government cybersecurity, Chris Inglis has been the White House National Cyber Director since July 2021.
Congress created the office by law last year to provide consistency in how the executive branch responds to large-scale hacks. The agency is also responsible for closely monitoring how agencies manage their cyber defenses in the face of a range of threats from state-sponsored adversaries and criminal groups.
Former Microsoft executive Kemba Enneas-Walden, who joined the office of national cyber director in May, will serve as acting director for now, a source familiar with the move told CNN.
Sources say Inglis plans to retire after resigning. According to one of his sources, there is no clear timeline for Mr. Inglis’ departure. It could come after the White House unveils a long-awaited new National Cybersecurity Strategy that will protect critical infrastructure from cyberthreats and encourage private companies to step up their defenses.
Inglis, who was contacted by phone on Wednesday, did not deny he was planning to resign, but declined to comment further. His goal, he told CNN, was always to get the early White House office up and running and keep it under good control.
Inglis, a nearly 30-year veteran of the National Security Agency, came to White after a string of high-profile cyber incidents during Biden’s first year in office, including a ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline operator. I took a position in the house.
Inglis has sought to raise the profile of the office, including by meeting with executives from the healthcare and electric vehicle sectors to discuss ways to improve cyber defenses. The office has seen a surge in hiring, bringing in cybersecurity analysts from other federal agencies who lend their expertise.
There is a bipartisan movement in the Capitol building that wants Inglis to stay longer as head of the National Cyber Agency.
The offices of Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Democratic Rep. Jim Lanjuvin of Rhode Island — two lawmakers who are influential on cybersecurity issues — told CNN that at least a new cybersecurity strategy will be implemented. Inglis hopes to remain in his position until then.
“I hope Chris stays at work. [the strategy] In a statement to CNN, Langevin said, “He’s done and more, but ultimately he will make the right decision for him and his family.
It is unknown how the call from Capitol Hill will affect Inglis.
Part of Inglis and his colleagues’ work has been to crack down on poor cybersecurity practices that increase the chances of damaging hacks.
The White House issued a directive in January requiring federal employees to sign agency networks with multiple layers of security to make it more difficult for hackers to break in. It went undetected for months, and U.S. officials were frustrated by the blind spot.
It’s a long-term struggle: Inglis compares the cybersecurity challenge to climate change, saying that both were “long created, are now rapidly escalating, and cannot be reversed. [quickly]”