The dual-hat arrangement, where one person leads both the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom), has been in place since Cybercom’s creation in 2010. What was once touted as temporary 13 years ago now seems established.
Will the dual-hat arrangement continue? Should it? Experts have discussed the pros and cons of both viewpoints for years. It remains in place for now, but is that likely to change in the future? That remains to be seen, and points of view shift based on the political and geopolitical landscape, as well as the rise and fall of cyber threats.
Who supports the arrangement
Those inside the NSA and Cybercom, as well as key lawmakers, favor keeping the dual-hat leadership. DefenseScoop notes that the initial leadership agreement made sense. Both organizations are inside the same Fort Meade, Maryland, location. At its birth, Cybercom required NSA personnel, experience and infrastructure to grow. The assumption was that Cybercom would eventually grow large and powerful enough to stand alone and justify having its own separate leadership structure.
In practice, however, the dual role enabled faster decision-making, which can be crucial in defeating cyber threats. Rep. Jim Langevin, current chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems, supports the arrangement, saying, “I think the dual-hat arrangement benefits both organizations and provides the infrastructure and expertise that helps both Cyber Command and the NSA achieve success in their individual missions.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, voiced similar praise in the article, noting that without the dual-hat arrangement, “You would have two separate bureaucracies who would clash on a daily ba ..
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