Drenan Dudley, deputy national cyber director for strategy and budget at the Office of the National Cyber Director, will assume responsibilities as acting head of the office while the White House awaits Senate confirmation for NCD nominee Harry Coker.
She will take over from Kemba Walden who has headed the ONCD on an acting basis since March when Chris Inglis, the nation’s first national cyber director, stepped down after almost two years in the position, NextGov reported Friday.
Dudley spent 16 years on the Senate Appropriations Committee before joining the ONCD in August 2022 as the assistant national cyber director for budget review and assessment.
“I look forward to continuing to implement the National Cybersecurity Strategy and supporting this administration’s continued efforts towards building a secure and resilient cyberspace that is aligned with our values,” Dudley said.
In July, President Biden nominated Coker, a more than four-decade public service veteran, as the next national cyber director.
The U.S. Navy veteran serves as a senior fellow at Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and an outside adviser to cyber and technology companies.
