NSA selects new leads for key cybersecurity posts

The National Security Agency has selected a trio of digital security veterans to serve as the permanent leads of two of its major cybersecurity organizations, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

David Imbordino, an NSA senior executive who most recently led its cybersecurity directorate in an acting capacity, has been named as its new chief — the first since its previous boss retired roughly one year ago. Holly Baroody, one of the NSA’s senior officials in the United Kingdom and a former top civilian at U.S. Cyber Command, will serve as his deputy.

Recorded Future News first reported earlier this year that the pair had been tapped to helm the outfit in acting roles.

The agency also selected Bruce Jones, a career NSA technical and operational leader, as the new head of its Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, an unclassified hub where government and private sector experts exchange information about hacking threats, often in real time.

NSA declined to comment.

The appointments, which are expected to be announced publicly soon, come as the largest electronic spy agency in the world looks to rebound from one of the more chaotic years in its history. 

The NSA experienced an almost year-long leadership vacuum that included a string of high-level departures and saw thousands of career personnel exit after pressure from the Trump administration to slim down its workforce.

Things have calmed since new leadership was installed atop the agency. Tim Kosiba, a former senior NSA, was appointed to the No. 2 spot in January. Army Gen. Joshua Rudd was confirmed in March to be the “dual-hat” leader of Cyber Command and NSA.

The agency is also grappling to understand how it can best incorporate artificial intelligence into its own operations, as well as its role within the federal government in terms of the technology. 

The White House last month postponed the release of an executive order that would have made the NSA responsible for classified evaluations of so-called “frontier” AI models. President Donald Trump scuttled the Oval Office signing hours before it was to take place after a last-minute lobbying effort by tech industry leaders.

Speaking at the National Cyber Innovation Forum the day the order was supposed to be signed, Darren Turner, NSA’S executive director, said the collaboration hub and the agency’s Artificial Intelligence Security Center are at the forefront of the agency’s work.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that a good defense is a strong offense, and so working with the Cyberspace Collaboration Center and its ability to work with industry in ensuring that our networks are up to speed in their own ability to basically defend themselves,” he said, noting the center is working with 1,900 private sector entities.

Turner noted NSA is actively trying to understand how the various models can be used.

“It gives us the application layer necessary to understand what the next steps are going to be, and if we understand the next steps we can get up front, because the advantage of understanding and utilizing AI, either for a defensive measure or an offensive measure, really starts with securing your networks against any application that you can possibly do, and that's where we're really driving our resources and our effort,” he said.