Mark Pomerleau
WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd may be confirmed as soon as this week to lead US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. And when that happens, the US military and intelligence community’s premier cyber offices will be led by a relative outsider — for better or worse. Over the last month, Breaking Defense spoke to nine former US officials who dealt closely with cyber operations or policy, to understand how the cyber community is viewing the three-star with no specific cyber experience but a long special operations pedigree stepping into the role.
The consensus: A lot of trepidation, but with a few voices expressing hope that Rudd’s apparent strengths as a leader, and the presence of deputies with deep stronger technical expertise, will overcome any shortcomings. One former military cyber operator said that the “sentiment [at NSA/CYBERCOM headquarters] at Fort Meade seems to be one of cautious pessimism,” fueled both by Rudd’s thin cyber background and questions over why he was chosen and what he intends to do.
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