Government

James ‘Aaron’ Bishop Tapped to Serve as New Pentagon CISO

Bishop replaces David McKeown, who will take on a role in the private sector after 40 years of government service. 

Pentagon DOD

The Department of Defense (referred to by the current administration as the Department of War) has named James ‘Aaron’ Bishop as its new deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity and chief information security officer, or DCIO(CS)-CISO. 

Bishop, a Navy veteran, officially assumed the role in an acting capacity on February 27, the Office of the Department of War (DoW) Chief Information Officer announced on Thursday.

“The DCIO(CS)-CISO is a critical position, responsible for providing expert policy, technical, program, and Department-wide oversight support to the DoW CIO on all cybersecurity matters,” the DoW CIO’s office said.

Bishop previously served as the CISO for the Department of the Air Force and held private-sector executive roles at Microsoft and SAIC.

He succeeds David McKeown, who is retiring from the federal government following a career spanning more than four decades. McKeown is set to take on a role in the private sector.

Bishop’s nomination comes shortly after Nick Andersen was appointed acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Andersen, who has served as the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, is replacing Madhu Gottumukkala, who has been named director of strategic implementation at the DHS.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

To stay informed on key personnel changes across the cybersecurity sector, explore SecurityWeek’s People on the Move section.

Related: Former CISA Director Jen Easterly Appointed CEO of RSAC

Related: Tim Kosiba Named NSA Deputy Director

Related: Casie Antalis Appointed to Lead CISA Program

Related Content

Artificial Intelligence

Pentagon CTO Emil Michael said the military is developing procedures for enabling different levels of autonomy in warfare depending on the risk posed.

Government

Madhu Gottumukkala has been assigned to a new role within the Department of Homeland Security.

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic said it sought narrow assurances from the Pentagon that Claude won’t be used for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons.

Management & Strategy

Easterly will be leading the world-renowned cybersecurity conference and other RSAC programs.

Government

The goal is to produce a cyber force capable of defeating threats posed by major adversaries such as China.

Compliance

Enforcement of the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirements started on November 10, 2025.

Government

The US Senate voted to confirm Sean Cairncross as the National Cyber Director, five months after nominalization.

Government

Casie Antalis is the new program director of the Joint Cyber Coordination Group at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Copyright © 2026 SecurityWeek ®, a Wired Business Media Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Exit mobile version