Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency senior advisers Bob Lord and Lauren Zabierek announced that they are resigning from their roles at CISA, Nextgov/FCW reported Monday.
“While CISA’s approaches to Secure by Design evolve, our commitment to the principles remain steadfast. I thank Bob Lord and Lauren Zabierek for helping to lay the foundation on which future work in this space can be built,” Bridget Bean, acting director of CISA, said in a statement.
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What Is Secure by Design?
According to the report, Lord and Zabierek helped lead the agency’s Secure by Design initiative, which seeks to provide incentives for software providers in the private sector to integrate security features into their offerings by default.
In his LinkedIn post announcing his resignation, Lord described the initiative as a movement that involves other U.S. agencies, international partners, software companies, open source projects and other stakeholders who “are pushing the software industry toward a future where safety is built in from the start.”
“There’s a role for everyone in making software safer,” Lord said. “The Secure by Design movement will only succeed if more people take ownership of the problem. So wherever you sit in the software ecosystem, I hope you’ll find your way to contribute.”
In her post on the professional networking platform, Zabierek said she is proud of her work on the Secure by Design initiative.
“Being part of this initiative has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career, one that truly embodies the spirit of public-private partnership and both interagency and international collaboration. One of government’s most important roles is to catalyze innovation that serves the public, and then find a way for it to scale, adapt, and endure. What started as a government-led call to action has quickly become a global movement and we look forward to continuing the momentum,” Zabierek wrote.
Bob Lord’s Career Background
Before joining CISA, Lord was chief security officer at the Democratic National Committee, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He previously served as chief information security officer at Yahoo and Rapid 7.
He also held senior security leadership roles at Twitter, Red Hat, AOL and Netscape Communications.
Earlier in his career, Lord served as a manager at Andersen Consulting.
Lauren Zabierek’s Career Highlights
Zabierek is a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute.
She previously served as director of the cybersecurity project at Harvard’s Belfer Center and senior intelligence analyst at Recorded Future.
The retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer worked as a consultant at Deloitte and spent five years as an intelligence analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Bridget Bean will be one of the speakers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Cyber Summit on May 15. Join her and other experts as they discuss new cyber policies, modernization strategies and other trends shaping the cyber domain. Save your spot now for this key event!
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