Richard Harris GFCE Advisory Board co-Chair

Mr. Harris has spent over three decades in the security field working at the tactical, operational, strategic, and national policy levels.

For the last 16 years, Mr. Harris has been focused on building U.S. and international cybersecurity capacity and developing foundational national cyber policies. After 26 years in the US Marine Corps, retiring as a Colonel, Mr. Harris joined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where he led efforts to develop and implement cyber risk prevention and mitigation, cybersecurity protection, incident response, information sharing, awareness and public/private partnership policies and programs. His early DHS work included increasing and improving the capabilities of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) where he created a planning staff to coordinate and support the development of inter-governmental coordination of cybersecurity policies, plans and operations.

Additionally, Mr. Harris was the lead in developing and implementing a successful public/private partnership program, and instrumental in developing and implementing the seminal Comprehensive National Cyber Initiative (CNCI) as well as numerous Presidential Directives on cybersecurity information sharing, operations and inter-agency coordination including developing situational awareness and incident response procedures between US-CERT and six major U.S. cyber centers in the Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Intelligence Community, as well as the private sector. Mr. Harris also served as the chief of planning and coordination for the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) where he worked with private sector, U.S. government agencies, and White House staff to improve whole-of-government approaches to cybersecurity. While serving as the Deputy Director, US-CERT, the NCCIC and as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Cybersecurity and Communications, Mr. Harris provided consultations to over 30 nations in multi-lateral and bi-lateral forums on building computer emergency response support capabilities and national cyber strategies including nations in the Asia Pacific, European, Middle Eastern, African and South American regions. Since joining MITRE in 2017, Mr. Harris has worked on cyber information sharing and capacity building efforts for the U.S. Department of State in Africa, Asia and Europe, and programs dealing with cybersecurity information sharing and the Internet of Things.

Mr. Harris is a graduate of Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA where he earned a B.A. degree in History and Political Science. He possesses an M.A. degree in International Affairs from American University, and an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Mr. Harris has served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University teaching a masters level class on homeland security. Mr. Harris has received numerous recognitions for his military accomplishments and his work at DHS and MITRE promoting the development of cybersecurity capacities and capabilities globally.