Rebecca Richards, former civil liberties and privacy officer of the National Security Agency, has been appointed chief of civil liberties, privacy, and transparency at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
As chief transparency officer, she is responsible for protecting constitutional rights and privacy within the agency, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines announced Thursday.
Richards joined NSA in 2014 and is credited for the establishment of its Civil Liberties and Privacy Office. She also held similar roles at the Department of Homeland Security.
Before becoming a privacy expert, Richards worked as an international trade specialist at the Department of Commerce. She later assumed various job posts at TRUSTe, a nonprofit organization known for its privacy seal.
Haines, a three-time Wash100 awardee, also acknowledged outgoing CLPT chief Ben Huebner. “As ODNI welcomes Becky, I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude and congratulations to Ben Huebner, our previous Chief of CLPT since July 2019. I am very thankful, though, that Ben will continue to serve in the IC.”
