The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Michael Sulmeyer as the first-ever cyber policy chief for the Department of Defense (DoD).
Sulmeyer was nominated by President Biden on March 21 for the role of assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, a new position established by the fiscal year (FY) 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In his new role, Sulmeyer would be responsible for developing, coordinating, assessing, and overseeing the implementation of DoD cyberspace policies and strategies, including the Pentagon’s Defense Industrial Base cybersecurity strategy.
His resume encompasses various roles within the Federal government’s cyber landscape. Most recently, he served as the principal cyber advisor to the Secretary of the Army since March 2022, where he advised on all cyber matters, including readiness, capabilities, and strategy.
He also served as the director of the DoD’s Rapid Vulnerability Review, senior director of cyber policy at the White House National Security Council, and senior advisor to the chief of U.S. Cyber Command.
Additionally, Sulmeyer directed the Cybersecurity Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and was a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technologies.
The FY2023 NDAA boosted the number of assistant secretaries of defense to 19. Earlier this year, Aprille Joy Ericsson, a long-standing NASA aerospace engineer, was also confirmed by the senate to serve as the assistant secretary of defense for science and technology.
