Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and head of Cyber Command, reportedly made a recommendation to split the two agencies in 2020, Defense One reported Wednesday.
Former and current intelligence officials said Nakasone proposed the move to James Mattis, the former defense secretary, in August 2018. Pentagon officials are expected to approve the change.
Nakasone, a 2019 Wash100 winner, was confirmed by the Senate to serve in the dual-hatted role in April 2018. A spokesman for the Department of Defense said the Pentagon has not yet made an official decision. NSA focuses on foreign intelligence collection and protection of U.S. networks while Cybercom performs signals intelligence collection, network defense and cybersecurity initiatives in support of military operations.
