Four-star Gen. Keith Alexander (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the longest-serving director of the National Security Agency and the first commander to lead the U.S. Cyber Command. Now founder and co-CEO of IronNet, Inc., he is calling for a collective defense approach to cyber-intelligence to fight Russia and other enemies of business and government. Join Washington Post Live when Alexander will discuss the latest cyber threat landscape with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.
Highlights
Gen. Keith Alexander (U.S. Army, Ret.)
At IronNet Cybersecurity, as the Founder, Chairman & Co-CEO and President, General (Ret) Keith Alexander provides strategic vision to corporate leaders on cybersecurity issues through development of cutting-edge technology, consulting and education/training. He is reinventing how industries mitigate cybersecurity threats with IronDefense, a patented solution designed to detect and alert on anomalous enterprise network behaviors through fine-tuned analytics. His goal is to bridge communication systems between private and government sectors to create the next level of intelligence sharing and protect the nation against cyber threats on a global stage.
General Alexander is a four-star general with an impressive 40-year military career, culminating in role of the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Chief of the Central Security Service (CSS) from 2005-2014. He holds the distinction of serving in this role longer than any other director. While serving as the NSA Director, he was appointed by Congress to be the first Commander to lead the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). He held this role from 2010-2014, establishing and defining how our nation is protected against cyber attacks.
As Commander, USCYBERCOM, General Alexander was responsible for planning, coordinating and conducting operations, and defending Department of Defense (DoD) computer networks—as well as the defense of the nation—from cyber threats. As the Director of NSA, he was responsible for national foreign intelligence requirements, military combat support, and the protection of U.S. national security information systems.
Prior to leading USCYBERCOM and the NSA/CSS General Alexander served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Department of the Army; Commanding General of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, VA; and the Director of Intelligence, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, FL., and the Deputy Director for Requirements, Capabilities, Assessments and Doctrine, J-2, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Serving as a member of the President’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, General Alexander developed key recommendations to create a defensible national cyber architecture to protect national security by promoting rapid innovation and close public-private collaboration while preserving privacy and civil liberties.
General Alexander is the recipient of the 2016 United States Military Academy (USMA) Distinguished Graduate Award. He holds a BS from the U.S. Military Academy, as well an MS in Business Administration from Boston University; an MS in Systems Technology and an MS in Physics from the Naval Post Graduate School; and an MS in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.
