DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Appoints NSI Founder and Executive Director Jamil N. Jaffer to Cyber Safety Review Board
May 8, 2024
Ken Turchi
George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School
kturchi@gmu.edu
Keelin Wolfe
National Security Institute
On May 6, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the appointment of Jamil N. Jaffer, the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, to its Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB).
The CSRB is made up of cybersecurity leaders from the private sector and senior officials from DHS, CISA, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the National Cyber Director, and the Office of Management and Budget. Jaffer was appointed alongside a set of prominent cyber leaders: David Luber, Director, Cybersecurity Directorate, NSA; Katie Nickels, Senior Director of Intelligence Operations, Red Canary; and Chris Krebs, Chief Intelligence and Public Policy Officer, Sentinel One, and former Director, CISA.
“The Cyber Safety Review Board is an important component of our nation’s cybersecurity efforts – tasked with investigating critical cyber incidents and imparting recommendations to the public and private sectors,” said Ken Randall, Allison and Dorothy Rouse Dean and GMU Foundation Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School. “The Law School is proud to have Professor Jamil N. Jaffer appointed to the CSRB, and we are confident that he will make significant contributions to its mission of strengthening our cybersecurity ecosystem.”
“I’m excited to be part of the important work that CSRB does in conducting fact-finding and issuing recommendations in the wake of major cyber incidents,” said Jaffer. “I look forward to working with all of the esteemed government and private sector members of the Board to help make concrete and actionable recommendations that will help drive cyber improvements in the private and public sectors.”
About Jamil N. Jaffer
Jamil N. Jaffer is a well-known national security expert, legal scholar, technology entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He currently serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he teaches courses on counterterrorism, intelligence, and cybersecurity, and as a Venture Partner and Strategic Advisor at Paladin Capital, a leading DC-based venture capital firm focused on dual-use national security and cybersecurity investments. Jaffer has held senior positions in both the public and private sectors, including serving as an Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Justice Department, Senior Counsel to the House Intelligence Committee and Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and as a Senior Vice President at IronNet Cybersecurity. Jaffer is widely published on national security, intelligence, foreign policy, and technology matters and frequently appears as an expert commentator in major media outlets.
About the National Security Institute
The National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School aims to be the intellectual powerhouse supporting a robust American national security posture—dedicated to incorporating a realistic assessment of the threats facing the United States and finding real-world answers to hard national security questions and providing them to policymakers in ways they can easily consume. We strive to educate future leaders and to shape the debate on critical issues by providing balance to the public discourse and identifying solutions that both enable a robust national defense and safeguard our constitutional liberties.
About the Scalia Law School
The Antonin Scalia Law School was founded in 1972 as the International School of Law in Washington, DC. In 1979 it merged with George Mason Law school and was named after the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. The school is located in Arlington, Va. and is ranked #28 nationally by US News—#3 among all 16 schools in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. The school offers JD, LLM, and JM degrees and is home to seven nationally acclaimed centers, including the Law and Economics Center, the National Security Institute, and the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
About George Mason University
George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls more than 37,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility.