Two top officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who helped lead the agency’s Secure by Design initiative are leaving the agency.
Bob Lord, who joined CISA in 2022 as a senior technical advisor, and Lauren Zabierek, who joined CISA in 2023 as a senior advisor, announced their departures in separate LinkedIn posts on April 21.
Lord called it a “difficult decision to leave CISA” in his post and said he will continue contributing to the Secure by Design movement, “But first, I’m taking a short break.”
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to help lead the agency’s work on Secure by Design software. This was never a solo effort – hundreds of people across CISA, other U.S. agencies, international partners, software companies, open source projects, and more came together to build a movement,” Lord said.
“These amazing people are pushing the software industry toward a future where safety is built in from the start. I can’t wait to see where they take it – especially as the daily headlines remind us how urgent this work is,” he added.
CISA launched its Secure by Design effort in April 2023. The Secure by Design principles aim to keep Americans safe in today’s technology ecosystem by putting more cybersecurity responsibilities on technology manufacturers instead of on technology users.
Zabierek also highlighted the Secure by Design initiative in her post, in which she said her decision to resign was “one of the toughest decisions of my career.”
“I’m particularly proud of our work on the Secure by Design initiative. Being part of this initiative has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career, one that truly embodies the spirit of public-private partnership and both interagency and international collaboration,” Zabierek said.
Neither Lord nor Zabierek indicated where they are headed next.
In a statement to MeriTalk, Acting CISA Director Bridget Bean said the agency “remains laser-focused on working across the public and private sectors to improve the nation’s cybersecurity, a critical element of which is ensuring that technology companies do their part.”
“This is why we continue to urge companies to develop products that are secure by design, instead of passing the cost of poorly designed products on to consumers. While CISA’s approaches to Secure by Design evolve, our commitment to the principles remain steadfast,” she continued. “I thank Bob Lord and Lauren Zabierek for helping to lay the foundation on which future work in this space can be built.”