Jen Easterly, a A longtime public and private sector cybersecurity specialist who led the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for more than three years has been named CEO of the RSA Conference, known as RSAC.
The organization hosts an annual gathering of cybersecurity experts, vendors and researchers, which began in 1991 as a tiny cryptography event hosted by corporate security giant RSA. RSAC is now a separate company organizing events and initiatives throughout the year, but the San Francisco conference remains its flagship offering and attracts tens of thousands of participants each spring.
“The conference is the jewel in the crown, but we are now also a year-round global membership organization for cyber industry professionals,” Easterly tells WIRED. “We’re deepening internationalization and I’m excited about expanding the innovation sandbox, exhibition ecosystem and early-stage startups, and it’s really about supporting the next generation of AI-based cyber companies and securing high-quality software design by innovators. In many ways, we’re experiencing an inflection point.”
Easterly’s appointment as CEO certainly comes at a moment of great transformation in the cybersecurity industry. AI tools are beginning to empower both attackers and defenders, and security experts have a key role to play in securing the AI platforms themselves, along with the infrastructure that supports the services. At the same time, the Trump administration’s sweeping changes to U.S. foreign and domestic policy appear likely to transform private sector cybersecurity and public-private partnerships in North America and around the world.
Easterly emphasizes that she is independent throughout her life and that cybersecurity transcends all administrations and borders. She has served extensively in the U.S. Army, worked for the National Security Agency, helped establish the U.S. Cyber Command at the Department of Defense, and spent nearly five years in charge of Morgan Stanley’s global cybersecurity, all before joining CISA in 2021.
Building trust and cooperation are among the most crucial priorities in her career. However, the Trump administration did not ask her to remain at CISA during the slow 2024 transition period, and President Donald Trump has widely criticized the election integrity work that CISA performed under her leadership and that of her predecessor, Chris Krebs. Separately in July, the Army deployed the Military Academy at West Point cancel job offer to Easterly to fill the position of Distinguished Chair of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Robert F. McDermott.
“I do not approach this leadership opportunity at RSAC through a lens of fear and speculation, I approach it with the same relentless optimism and belief in the power of community that has been at the center of my service, public and private,” Easterly says. “Cybersecurity is not a political endeavor, RSAC is certainly not a political organization, and I am not a political person. I am a lifelong independent person.”
Easterly says the RSA conference will continue to welcome insights and collaboration from officials from all governments as part of its efforts to facilitate community building and collaboration on cybersecurity. He also says there is “magic” that can happen when the security community creates supportive forums where they can come together.
“Security and resilience are issues that impact every country, every industry and every citizen,” he adds. “And the strength of RSAC is that it brings together operators, technologists, innovators, researchers and decision-makers from across administrations and across borders precisely because it is based on expertise and mission, not politics.”