Department of the Navy (DON) Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Chris Cleary has been selected as the DON Principal Cyber Advisor (PCA).

The position of PCA is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of FY2020, and in his new role, Cleary will work in close coordination with the DON CIO, the DoD PCA, and the DoD CIO, and will assume responsibility for advising the SECNAV, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition) (ASN (RDA)), the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and appropriate senior military officers.

He will also be responsible for implementing the DoD’s Cyber Strategy within the DON by coordinating and overseeing the execution of the DON’s policies and programs relevant to the following:

• The recruitment, resourcing, and training of military cyberspace operations forces, assessment of these forces against standardized readiness metrics, and maintenance of these forces at standardized readiness levels.
• Acquisition of offensive, defensive, and DoD Information Networks cyber capabilities for military cyberspace operations.
• Cybersecurity management and operations.
• Acquisition of cybersecurity tools and capabilities, including those used by cybersecurity service providers.
• Evaluating, improving, and enforcing a culture of cybersecurity warfighting and accountability for cybersecurity and cyberspace operations.
• Cybersecurity and related supply chain risk management of the industrial base.
• Cybersecurity of DoD information systems, information technology services, and weapon systems, including the incorporation of cybersecurity threat information as part of secure development processes, cybersecurity testing, and the mitigation of cybersecurity risks.

Cleary brings to the position a wealth of experience. He is a Naval Academy graduate and retired Naval Reserve Officer who served 16 of 24 years on active duty in a variety of leadership roles, he has held several leadership positions in the private sector and has been the DON Chief Information Security Officer for the past year.