New Defense Department cyber policy office has opened
The Pentagon on Friday announced that its new cyber policy shop was formally established earlier this month.
The Pentagon officially stood up the congressionally-mandated Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy on March 20, the Defense Department said in a statement.
Ashley Manning, who has held a variety of senior positions within DOD, will helm the office until a Senate-confirmed leader is in place.
"In standing up this office, the department is giving cyber the focus and attention that Congress intended," Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker said.
Recorded Future News first reported earlier this month that the office — which policymakers believed to be necessary to improve the Pentagon’s focus on cybersecurity matters and increase accountability — was set to open and that Manning would serve as its interim chief.
Last week, President Joe Biden announced his nominee for the position would be Michael Sulmeyer, the top cyber advisor to the Army secretary and a long-time frontrunner for the post.
Martin Matishak
is the senior cybersecurity reporter for The Record. Prior to joining Recorded Future News in 2021, he spent more than five years at Politico, where he covered digital and national security developments across Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community. He previously was a reporter at The Hill, National Journal Group and Inside Washington Publishers.