DOD's R&E directorate brings on assistant director for cybersecurity

The Pentagon’s research and engineering directorate has a lead for cybersecurity, the Defense Department’s technology chief announced today.

Daniel Ragsdale is the Pentagon’s new assistant director for cybersecurity within the R&E office, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin said today at the Directed Energy Summit in Washington.

"I’m tempted to say cybersecurity should be our very top priority," Griffin said in announcing Ragsdale’s hiring, as he noted cyber vulnerabilities cut across all DOD weapon systems.

Ragsdale is a retired Army colonel and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program manager who most recently served as director of Texas A&M University’s cybersecurity center. His Linkedin profile shows he just started working in the R&E office this month.

In the assistant director position, Ragsdale will oversee the cybersecurity of systems in research and development. Last October, the Government Accountability Office reported DOD may have developed an "entire generation" of weapon systems without adequately considering cybersecurity.

Formally established last summer as part of the reorganization of the Pentagon's acquisition, logistics and technology office, Griffin's research and engineering directorate has been hiring assistant directors to lead specific areas of technology development.

Griffin said he was also close to bringing in a new assistant director for artificial intelligence, though he would not provide a name until the hire was finalized.