Ex-CISA Director Jen Easterly to Head RSA Conference

Jen Easterly, a seasoned cybersecurity expert with extensive experience in both public and private sectors, has been named CEO of RSA Conference, also known as RSAC. She previously led the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for over three years.

RSAC organizes a prominent annual gathering of cybersecurity professionals, vendors, and researchers. The event began in 1991 as a modest cryptography gathering hosted by the corporate security firm RSA. While now an independent entity holding events and initiatives year-round, its flagship conference in San Francisco attracts tens of thousands of attendees each spring.

“The conference is the crown jewel, but we are also evolving into a year-round global membership organization for cybersecurity professionals,” Easterly shares with WIRED. “We are deepening our international reach, and I’m thrilled to enhance the innovation sandbox, the early-stage expo, and foster a startup ecosystem aimed at supporting the next generation of AI-driven cybersecurity firms and secure-by-design innovators, all to deliver high-quality software. In many respects, we are at an inflection point.”

Easterly’s rise to CEO comes at a transformative time for the cybersecurity landscape. AI technologies are enhancing capabilities for both attackers and defenders, making it essential for security experts to fortify AI platforms along with their supporting infrastructure. Concurrently, significant shifts in US foreign and domestic policy initiated by the Trump administration are set to influence private-sector cybersecurity and public-private partnerships across North America and globally.

Easterly underscores her independence, asserting that cybersecurity transcends administrations and borders. Her background includes several deployments in the US Army, tenures at the National Security Agency, the establishment of US Cyber Command within the Department of Defense, and nearly five years overseeing Morgan Stanley’s global cybersecurity efforts before her tenure at CISA began in 2021.

Building trust and fostering collaboration have been key priorities throughout her career. However, she was not invited to remain at CISA during the transition at the end of 2024, following President Trump’s extensive critiques of the election integrity work conducted under her and her predecessor, Chris Krebs. Additionally, in July, the Army instructed the Military Academy at West Point to rescind an offer for her to assume the Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in the academy’s Department of Social Sciences.

“I don’t approach this leadership role at RSAC from a standpoint of fear or speculation; I bring the same relentless optimism and faith in community that has always guided my service, both public and private,” Easterly remarks. “Cybersecurity is not politically driven; RSAC is certainly not a political organization, and I do not consider myself a political person. I am a lifelong independent.”

Easterly indicates that RSA Conference will continue to welcome insights and collaboration from officials across all governments as part of its mission to foster community and collaboration in cybersecurity. She emphasizes that there is “magic” that unfolds when the security community has supportive platforms to unite.

“Security and resilience are issues affecting every nation, industry, and citizen,” she adds. “RSAC thrives by bringing together operators, technologists, innovators, researchers, and policymakers from various administrations and across borders, all rooted in expertise and mission rather than politics.”