Dr. Michael Sulmeyer is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy and the Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of Defense. In these roles, he is responsible for overseeing the Department of Defense’s cyber policies and operations.

Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary, Dr. Sulmeyer served as the Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of the Army. While with the Army, he led the service’s efforts to improve the cybersecurity of operational technology and control systems. Before his time with the Army, Dr.

Sulmeyer served in multiple positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He also 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 the Director of the Cybersecurity Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He also taught at the University of Texas School of Law and was a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Dr. Sulmeyer was a Contributing Editor to the national security blog Lawfare and in the mid-1990s, he was the System Operator (SysOp) of The Summit BBS in Santa Barbara, California.

Dr. Sulmeyer earned his doctorate (DPhil) from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. He also earned a law degree (JD) from Stanford Law School, a master’s degree (MA) in War Studies from King’s College London, and his bachelor’s degree (BA) from Stanford University.