First White House Cybersecurity Chief Chris Inglis to Resign

Chris Inglis, U.S. cybersecurity chief, is reportedly expected to step down within two months.

Inglis — who was the first to serve as national cyber director and led the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) since its establishment in July 2021 — will be replaced by an acting director, Kemba Eneas Walden, who joined the office in May and was previously an executive at Microsoft, CNN reported Wednesday (Dec. 21), citing unnamed sources.

Inglis did not deny that he planned to resign, per the report. He is expected to retire. Inglis told CNN his goal was always to get the office up and running and then leave it in good hands.

The ONCD did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The national cyber director is the principal advisor to the president on cybersecurity policy, strategy and engagement with industry and international stakeholders, according to the ONCD website.

“ONCD is working to ensure every American can share in the full benefits of our digital ecosystem, including the economic prosperity and democratic participation it enables, while aggressively addressing and mitigating the risks and threats at large in cyberspace,” the website said.

Specifically, ONCD aims to ensure federal coherence, improve public-private collaboration, align resources to aspirations and increase resilience, according to the site.

In related news, the FBI reported Sept. 15 that cyberattacks on healthcare payment processors are escalating, with multiple reports of victims’ payments being redirected by thieves using employees’ publicly available personally identifiable information (PII) and social engineering techniques to impersonate victims.

The cybercriminals impersonated victims and obtained access to files, healthcare portals, payment information and websites, according to a statement from the FBI.

PYMNTS research has found that 81% of consumers believe that data security is “very” or “extremely” important when it comes to sharing personal data online.

Fifty-two percent of the consumers said data security is “extremely” important, and another 28% said it is “very” important, according to “The Future of Authentication in Financial Services: Finding the Balance Between Security and Convenience,” a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration.