Thomas McDermott
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Thomas McDermott is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He advises senior department officials and oversees the development of policy positions related to the full range of cyber, technology, infrastructure, and resilience issues.
Mr. McDermott has served in a variety of roles at DHS, including an assignment as Deputy Director for Strategy at the National Cybersecuritiy and Communication Integrations Center (NCCIC). His tenure includes acting as Deputy Associate General Counsel and as the Assistant General Counsel for Infrastructure Programs, where he oversaw the provision of legal advice in connection with the Department’s programmatic efforts to protect U.S. critical infrastructure, including in the areas of cybersecurity and voluntary efforts to enhance the security and resilience of critical infrastructure from terrorism and all hazards.
Mr. McDermott has advised senior DHS and White House officials in connection with numerous departmental and Administration priorities, including the development and implementation of a series of executive orders that seek to strengthen information sharing, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against physical and cyber threats. In 2012, he received the DHS General Counsel’s Excellence Award for his leadership in the development of the Administration’s comprehensive cybersecurity legislative proposal. He has also advised on the development of major DHS cybersecurity programs, including the EINSTEIN and Enhanced Cybersecurity Services programs, and provided operational legal support to the NCCIC as well as the DHS National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC).
Mr. McDermott was previously an attorney in the DHS Office of the General Counsel’s Legal Counsel division and acted as the Assistant General Counsel for Strategic Oversight and Review. Prior to joining DHS in March 2007, Mr. McDermott was an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s Washington office where he focused on matters involving complex and commercial litigation. Mr. McDermott graduated from the Duke University School of Law and the University of Notre Dame, and clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.