Over the new year, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto to enact into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2021—an annual piece of legislation that lays out the budget, expenditures and policies of the Pentagon for the upcoming year. This year’s NDAA also contains numerous cyber-related provisions, among them § 1752, which establishes a new Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The head of the ONCD, the national cyber director (NCD), is subject to Senate confirmation and is tasked with serving as “the principal advisor to the President on cybersecurity policy and strategy relating to the coordination of” defensive strategies for federal and critical infrastructure organizations, incident response, diplomatic initiatives relating to cybersecurity, efforts to deter adversaries and industry engagement. The NCD will lead a sizable office of up to 75 staff.
The legislation implements one of the signature recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which Congress established in 2019 to develop a strategic approach to combating future cyberattacks. The commission proposed the…
