CNN
—
president joe biden An Air Force general has been appointed to head the nation’s powerful electronic espionage agency and the U.S. military command that conducts offensive cyber operations — a key post as the U.S. continues to fight Russia, China and other adversaries in cyberspace.
An Air Force official confirmed to CNN that Lt. Gen. Timothy Haw, who served for many years in the top U.S. military cyber post, is Biden’s choice to succeed outgoing Army Gen. Paul Nakasone as national security Bureau and the head of U.S. Cyber Command.
politics first Report Nominated by Haugh.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Harf’s nomination could face a hurdle in the Senate after Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama suspended the senior military nomination over opposition to the department’s abortion travel policy.
Haugh is currently the deputy to U.S. Cyber Command, which consists of thousands of U.S. service members who conduct offensive and defensive cyber operations to protect critical U.S. infrastructure. Officials from the command traveled to Ukraine in late 2021 to prepare Kiev for a Russian cyber attack that would accompany a full-scale Russian invasion.
Under Nakasone’s leadership over the past five years, the command and NSA have also taken an increasingly active role in helping defend U.S. elections from foreign interference.
During the 2020 election, Iranian Hackers Access US Municipal Websites A senior U.S. military official revealed last month that Cyber Command kicked hackers off the network for reporting unofficial election results, fearing they might post false results on the site.
Haugh’s nomination marks the continued focus on election security at Fort Meade, Maryland’s sprawling military base, home to the NSA and Cyber Command. As a senior U.S. military cyber official, Haugh was involved in election security discussions during the recent midterm and general elections.