State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy Begins Operations

The Department of State on Monday announced that the newly-formed Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy has officially begun operations. The new bureau was created in an effort by the department’s leadership to elevate its cybersecurity mission and focus on setting international cyber norms, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

In a statement, the State Department said the CDP bureau is intended to address national security challenges, economic opportunities, and implications for U.S. values associated with cyberspace, digital technologies and digital policy. It goes on to say that the new bureau is a “key piece of Sec. Antony Blinken’s modernization agenda.”

The State Department said that the CDP bureau includes three policy units – International Cyberspace Security, International Information and Communications Policy, and Digital Freedom. It will be led by a Senate-confirmed ambassador-at-large. 

Jennifer Bachus, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, will serve as principal deputy assistant secretary for the CDP bureau. She will serve as senior bureau official until an ambassador-at-large is confirmed, it was explained.

Meanwhile, Donna Bennett, the State Department’s cybersecurity strategy leader, told journalists that the new office will be critical in helping to establish international cyber norms and standards that “build capacity, provide deterrence, and promote American values and interests.” She stressed that the role of cybersecurity in the diplomatic mission cannot be understated.

Bennet said that the bureau’s portfolio will include national security challenges, economic opportunities and implications for U.S. values associated with cyberspace, digital technologies and digital policy. She added that the bureau’s creation reflects a restructuring of the State Department’s cybersecurity strategy.