DHS Secretary Johnson announces leadership for National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center

On August 10, Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, released the following announcement regarding the leadership at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC).

Today I make several announcements regarding DHS’s cybersecurity mission.

As the U.S. government’s 24/7 hub for cybersecurity information sharing, incident response, and coordination, the Department’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center – or “NCCIC” –  is critical in our efforts to ensure our nation’s cybersecurity.

Given the central importance of the NCCIC to the DHS cybersecurity mission, I have determined that we must elevate the NCCIC within our Department’s structure, with an incident reporting line directly to me as Secretary. Equally as important, I have also directed the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) to develop a reorganization plan that will ensure the NCCIC is focused on strengthening our operational capabilities for mitigating and responding to cyber incidents.

As part of this reorganization, Dr. Andy Ozment, currently the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, will assume overall and direct responsibility for the NCCIC.

I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. John Felker to run day-to-day operations at the NCCIC.  Dr. Ozment and Mr. Felker will provide a combination of operational experience, leadership, and strategic insight needed to take the NCCIC to the next level for our cybersecurity.

Dr. Andy Ozment

Dr. Andy Ozment is the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications within the National Protection and Programs Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security. In this role, Dr. Ozment oversees a budget of almost $930 million and leads a Federal employee workforce charged with enhancing the security, resilience, and reliability of the Nation’s cyber and communications infrastructure. Prior to joining DHS, he served at the White House as the President’s Senior Director for Cybersecurity where he led a team that developed national policy and coordinated federal cybersecurity efforts in the areas of critical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity legislation, executive branch security, privacy and civil liberties, information sharing, and incident response. Prior to joining the White House, Dr. Ozment led an operational security group at DHS that oversaw compliance, metrics, and security authorization for the department’s Chief Information Security Officer. Previously, Dr. Ozment served in cybersecurity roles with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, National Security Agency, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Merrill Lynch, and Nortel Networks.

Dr. Ozment earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While studying in the United Kingdom on a Marshall Scholarship, he earned a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge.

John Felker

Prior to coming to DHS, Felker served as the Director of Cyber and Intelligence Strategy for HP Enterprise Services. Previously, Felker was Vice President of Cyber Programs at SCI Consulting, where he developed proactive, intelligence-based cyber programs. In his 30-year U.S. Coast Guard career, Felker served as Deputy Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command, where he was responsible for the day-to-day staff leadership and the stand-up of the command. He commanded the U.S. Coast Guard Cryptologic Group, which spanned subordinate units from Hawaii to Afghanistan performing Signals Intelligence missions and developing U.S. Coast Guard Signals Intelligence capability. He was also executive assistant to the Director of U.S. Coast Guard Intelligence where he was responsible for the coordination of Directorate activities within the National Intelligence Community management enterprise.

Source: DHS