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Kemba Walden

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Kemba Walden
United States National Cyber Director
Acting
In office
February 15, 2023 – November 17, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byChris Inglis
Succeeded byDrenan Dudley (acting)
Personal details
EducationHampton University (BA)
Princeton University (MPA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Kemba Eneas Walden is an American lawyer who served as the acting National Cyber Director in 2023. She joined the Office of the National Cyber Director as its principal deputy in May 2022. Walden was previously assistant general counsel of the Digital Crimes Unit at Microsoft.

Life

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Walden earned a B.A. from Hampton University.[1] She earned a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.[1]

Career

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Walden spent a decade in government service at the United States Department of Homeland Security, most recently at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.[1] In February 2022, Walden was appointed as an inaugural member of the Cyber Safety Review Board,[2][3] and she contributed to its review of the December 2021 Log4j event.[4][5] Walden later served as assistant general counsel of the Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) at Microsoft.[6][7][8][9]

In May 2022, she joined the Office of the National Cyber Director, as its principal deputy. Upon the retirement of John C. Inglis on February 15, 2023, she became the acting director.[10][11] She was involved in the development of the March 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy.[12][13][14][15][16]

On January 8, 2024, Walden was announced as president of the newly-launched Paladin Global Institute, a cybersecurity research and advocacy institute.[17][18] She contributed to the Institute of Security and Technology's Ransomware Task Force and contributed to its April 2021 “Combating Ransomware” report and serves as co-chair.[19][20][21][22] In April 2024, she advocated for a full ransomware payments ban.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Office of the National Cyber Director Announces Senior Leadership". The White House. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2023-07-19.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ ""DHS Launches First-Ever Cyber Safety Review Board"". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 3 February 2022.
  3. ^ Pattison-Gordon, Jule (8 February 2022). ""Cyber Safety Review Board to Seek Root Causes, Systemic Fixes"". Government Technology.
  4. ^ ""2022 Pinnacle Award: Kemba Walden"". Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  5. ^ ""Review of the December 2021 Log4j Event, Cyber Safety Review Board"" (PDF). Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. 11 July 2022.
  6. ^ ""The growing threat of ransomware"". Microsoft. 20 July 2021.
  7. ^ ""Kemba Walden"". Georgetown University. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Kemba Walden | UC Berkeley School of Information". www.ischool.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  9. ^ Smalley, Suzanne (May 10, 2022). ""Office of the National Cyber Director hires Microsoft exec, CIA official"". Cyberscoop. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  10. ^ "Kemba Walden: The Next ONCD Top Boss?". 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  11. ^ Starks, Tim (February 15, 2023). "The first national cyber director's last day is today". The Washington Post.
  12. ^ "White House Releases National Cybersecurity Strategy". GovTech. 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  13. ^ "NCD Walden Talks Next Steps for National Cyber Strategy". www.meritalk.com. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  14. ^ "Acting national cyber director offers new details on upcoming cyber workforce strategy". FCW. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  15. ^ Iasiello, Emilio (2023-03-02). "Will a New Cyber Director Plus a New Cyber Strategy Equal a New Result?". OODA Loop. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  16. ^ ""Remarks: National Cybersecurity Strategy Launch Remarks, Acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden"". The White House. 2 March 2023.
  17. ^ Smalley, Suzanne (8 January 2024). ""Kemba Walden to helm new Paladin cyber research and advocacy institute"". The Record from Recorded Future News.
  18. ^ ""Paladin Capital Group Launches Paladin Global Institute Led by Kemba Walden"". Paladin Capital Group. 8 January 2024.
  19. ^ ""Ransomware Task Force"". Institute of Security and Technology. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  20. ^ ""Kemba Walden"". Institute of Security and Technology. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  21. ^ ""Kemba Walden"". Paladin Capital Group. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  22. ^ ""RTF Report: Combating Ransomware"". Institute for Security and Technology. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. ^ Bracken, Matt (16 April 2024). ""Ex-White House cyber official says ransomware payment ban is a ways off"". CyberScoop.
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