Jen Easterly

Jen Easterly
Official portrait, 2021
2nd Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
In office
July 13, 2021 – January 20, 2025
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byChris Krebs
Succeeded byBridget Bean (acting)
Personal details
Born
Jennie Margaret Koch[1]
Spouse
Jason Tighe Easterly
​
​
(m. 2004)​
Children1
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
Pembroke College, Oxford (MA)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1990–2010
RankColonel (United States)

Jen Easterly is an American cybersecurity expert and former government official who served 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

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

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 Condoleezza Rice, the National Security advisor during the George W. Bush administration.[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

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

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]

In 2023, while Easterly led CISA, it came under significant scrutiny for censorship work from members of Congress who claimed CISA was involved in an attempted cover up. The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government accused CISA of colluding with big tech companies and disinformation partners to censor Americans.[23] The claims have come under scrutiny as "attempts to distort the truth for political gain".[24]

Easterly stepped down from her position on January 20, 2025.[25][26]

Post-CISA Career

On July 30, 2025, Easterly was appointed to the Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point.[27] Later that day, after far-right activist Laura Loomer criticized the appointment, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll rescinded the service agreement and ordered a review of the hiring practices.[28][29][30]

Awards

Personal life

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.[33] Judge Catharine Easterly of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is her sister-in-law.[34][35]

References

  1. ^ a b "Weddings/Celebrations: Jennie Koch, Jason Easterly". The New York Times. April 4, 2004. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "PN420 – Nomination of Jen Easterly for Department of Homeland Security, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". Congress.gov. June 16, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  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. October 5, 2021. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Jen Easterly". New America (organization). Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "32 Americans Awarded Rhodes Scholarships". The New York Times. December 11, 1989. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Armstrong, Jenice (December 16, 1989). "Four from D.C. Area Make the Rhodes Scholarship Grade". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN1247 — Army — 106th Congress (1999-2000)". U.S. Congress. October 6, 2000. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  10. ^ "PN1883 — Army — 109th Congress (2005-2006)". U.S. Congress. September 29, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "PN1278 — Army — 112th Congress (2011-2012)". U.S. Congress. February 17, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Biden Beefs Up Cyber Team with NSA, DHS Veterans in Key Roles at White House, CISA, DHS". Homeland Security Today. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  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 April 14, 2021.
  16. ^ "Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on National Cyber Director and CISA Director Nominations". The White House. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Jennifer Easterly". National Security Institute. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Geller, Eric (April 12, 2021). "Biden names former NSA officials to key cybersecurity positions". POLITICO. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "PN420 — Jen Easterly — Department of Homeland Security". July 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "Statement from New CISA Director Jen Easterly | CISA". www.cisa.gov. July 13, 2021.
  21. ^ Vasquez, Christian (June 12, 2023). "Ukraine information sharing a model for countering China, top cyber official says". CyberScoop. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "AI threat demands new approach to security designs -US official". Reuters. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  23. ^ "New Report Reveals CISA Tried to Cover Up Censorship Practices". House Judiciary (Press release). June 26, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  24. ^ Kate Starbird (August 23, 2023). Addressing falsehoods and the manipulated narrative of House Judiciary Committee Majority document: "The Weaponization of CISA: How a 'Cybersecurity' Agency Colluded With Big Tech and 'Disinformation' Partners to Censor Americans" (Report). Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  25. ^ "Easterly, CISA Director, to Step Down on Inauguration Day". Dark Reading. November 18, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  26. ^ Newman, Lily Hay. "Under Trump, US Cyberdefense Loses Its Head". Wired. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  27. ^ Seldon, Matt (July 30, 2025). "Jen Easterly, Former CISA Director, Returns to West Point as Distinguished Chair in Social Sciences Department". HSToday. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  28. ^ Otto, Greg (July 30, 2025). "Army Secretary forces West Point to rescind appointment given to Easterly". CyberScoop. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  29. ^ Cooper, Helene (July 30, 2025). "Army Secretary Orders West Point to Pull Appointment After a Laura Loomer Complaint". New York Times.
  30. ^ Bertrand, Natasha (July 30, 2025). "Army Secretary withdraws West Point job offer to former Biden official amid pressure from far-right activist". CNN. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  31. ^ a b "Jen Easterly | CISA". Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "Awards & Fellows". jamesfoleyfoundation.org. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  33. ^ "Jen Easterly". Aspen Global Leadership Network. The Aspen Institute. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  34. ^ "Obituary: Harry Watkey Easterly, Jr". Richmond Times-Dispatch. June 16, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  35. ^ "Obituary: Mary Easterly". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

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