President Trump named U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone to be the next head of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace current NSA/CYBERCOM chief Adm. Mike Rogers, who is expected to retire in the spring.
Nakasone is best-known for developing CYBERCOM into a premier cyberwarfare unit.
If confirmed he brings a unique skill set to both NSA and CYBERCOM at a time when cyber threats to national security are growing.
CYBERCOM includes the cyber mission teams of each military service branch, including the Navy, Army and Air Force, and operates on Title 10 authorities, making it a warfare and not an intelligence-collection-focused outfit. [source]
Analysis: Nakasone has been in command of the Army’s Cyber Command and the Joint Task Force Ares unit that offers cyber support to the military against the Islamic State militant organization. Also he previously led the cyber national mission force at U.S. CYBERCOM. In addition, he’s twice been named to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a staff officer role and has held senior intelligence roles at the battalion, corps and division levels. His appointment reflects the importance the Trump national security team is placing on on cybersecurity as a security threat.
