Cybersecurity Leaders Identified by the White House and CISA to Advance in National Resilience Strategy's Implementation Progression
New National Cyber Director Appointed: Sean Cairncross
The United States Senate has confirmed Sean Cairncross as the new National Cyber Director, effective from August 2025. Cairncross, a former Republican National Committee official and senior adviser to President Trump, assumes leadership of the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), tasked with shaping national cybersecurity policy and strategy.
While Cairncross does not have a technical cybersecurity background, the focus of his tenure is expected to be on collaboration across federal departments, agencies, and private industry to ensure U.S. dominance in the cyber domain. This implies a coordinated approach to protect critical infrastructure, including utilities such as water and healthcare.
In a related development, Harry Wingo has been appointed as the new deputy national cyber director. Wingo, a former U.S. Navy Seal officer, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as president and CEO of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, counsel to the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce & Transportation, and senior policy counsel at Google.
Wingo's appointment comes as Brandon Wales, the agency's first executive director, prepares to step down next month. Jen Easterly, who served with Wales at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), praised Wales' leadership and deep expertise in handling serious threats facing the nation. Easterly also praised Wingo, commending his leadership and contributions to the team's mission to advance the nation's security, economic prosperity, and technological innovation through cybersecurity policy leadership.
Regarding the national cybersecurity strategy and plans for critical sectors like water and healthcare, no specific new plans have been publicly detailed for these sectors by Cairncross or the ONCD. However, related strategic priorities in allied domains such as health security emphasize modernization, federal coordination, and measures to counter biothreats, which overlap with cybersecurity priorities.
For healthcare security, reform agendas call for investments in advanced biological detection, emergency operations coordination, supply chain stability, and technology integration including AI, aiming to enhance pandemic and biothreat preparedness. There is also emphasis on a unified national strategic plan for health security investments with measurable impact metrics to prevent and respond to biothreats, which could intersect with cybersecurity efforts in healthcare systems.
In the realm of water security, national cybersecurity efforts under Cairncross stress strong collaboration across federal departments, agencies, and private industry to ensure the resilience of key critical infrastructure sectors, including utilities like water and healthcare.
To summarize, the new deputy national cyber director is Sean Cairncross, who does not have a technical cybersecurity background. The national cybersecurity strategy promotes cross-agency and public-private collaboration for cybersecurity dominance. No specific new plans have been publicly detailed for the water and healthcare sectors, but related strategic priorities call for modernization, coordination, and measures to counter biothreats in healthcare security. If you want more detailed or updated plans on these sectors, monitoring official ONCD releases or White House briefings would be advisable. The White House disclosed this personnel decision as part of efforts to improve the nation's resilience and cybersecurity posture.
As the new National Cyber Director, Sean Cairncross is expected to prioritize collaboration with federal departments, agencies, and private industry to secure the U.S.'s dominance, particularly in sectors like water and healthcare. However, specific new plans for these sectors have not been publicly detailed by Cairncross or the Office of the National Cyber Director. Nevertheless, related strategic priorities suggest an emphasis on modernization, federal coordination, and measures to counter biothreats in healthcare, which could intersect with cybersecurity efforts.
