DOD's cyber chief to exit this month

The Pentagon's lead cybersecurity expert, Jack Wilmer, is leaving his post for a private industry role at the end of July, adding to the recent exodus of top defense officials and vacancies in defense leadership roles, FCW has confirmed.

Wilmer holds dual roles as the Defense Department's deputy CIO for cybersecurity and chief information security officer. DOD CIO Dana Deasy called Wilmer an "incredible asset" that helped lead the department's first Cyber Scorecard and the Cyber Risk Reduction Strategy, according to a statement.

Wilmer's departure is one of several in recent months, including the abrupt dual resignation of Mike Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, and his deputy Lisa Porter in June. Those exits, and Wilmer's are part of a trend of interim or acting leadership in DOD under the Trump administration.

Mark Hakun, the principal director for the deputy CIO for cyber, will assume Wilmer's roles on the acting basis. Hakun was previously the deputy CIO for the National Security Agency.

Politico first reported the news of Wilmer's departure.

This article first appeared on FCW, a Defense Systems partner site.