Michael Sulmeyer

Dr. Michael Sulmeyer is a professor of the practice at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He previously served as the first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy and as principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense, where he oversaw the Department of Defense’s cyber policies and operations. Prior to this role, he was principal cyber advisor to the secretary of the Army, leading efforts to improve the cybersecurity of the Army’s critical infrastructure. Earlier in his career, he held multiple positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and served as senior advisor to the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, as well as special assistant to the president and senior director for cyber policy on the National Security Council staff. Outside of government, Dr. Sulmeyer was director of the Cybersecurity Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, taught at the University of Texas School of Law, and was a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. He also served as a contributing editor to the national security blog Lawfare and, in the mid-1990s, was the system operator (SysOp) of the Summit BBS in Santa Barbara, California.