DOD taps McKeown to serve as new special assistant for cybersecurity innovation 

David McKeown has been chosen as the Defense Department Chief Information Office’s inaugural special assistant for cybersecurity innovation, according to a Friday announcement.

As part of the new role, McKeown will stand up and lead the CIO’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which will focus on tackling long-range and complex innovation challenges for cybersecurity modernization. He will be responsible for a range of programs and operations that will ensure the Pentagon is prepared to meet emerging cybersecurity threats, the DOD CIO noted in a statement posted on LinkedIn.

“Establishing this new office divorces the day-to-day activities such as zero trust implementation, defense industrial base cybersecurity programs and policy development from the requirement to look over the horizon and take on the following cybersecurity threat,” the statement said. “With the Special Advisor for Cybersecurity Innovation, we are building an office to create transformational breakthroughs and drive strategic invention in cybersecurity.”

McKeown most recently served as both the deputy CIO for cybersecurity and chief information security officer since 2020 — a dual-hatted position where he led the department’s wide-ranging cybersecurity modernization efforts and associated policies. His tenure has seen the introduction of cutting-edge technologies and robust protocols to fortify the Pentagon’s cyber defenses.

He has been at the forefront of implementing the DOD’s zero trust strategy while overseeing adoption of the new cybersecurity standards at organizations across the Pentagon. McKeown has also worked to strengthen cybersecurity within the defense industrial base and helped the department revamp the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standards. 

McKeown has over three decades of experience working in the Defense Department, including 27 years serving in the Air Force and 8 years as a government civilian employee. His prior roles include working as an Air Force cyberspace operations officer; the director of enterprise information and mission assurance for the Army’s Information Technology Agency; and the cybersecurity center chief and enterprise services center chief for the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Joint Service Provider.

Prior to joining the DOD CIO, McKeown also led the Department of Justice’s Service Delivery Staff. Prior to that role, he ran enterprise services and cybersecurity for the DOD’s Joint Service Provider.

Gurpreet Bhatia will assume the duties of acting deputy CIO for cybersecurity and CISO. He previously served as the DOD’s principal director for cybersecurity and deputy chief information security officer.