Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, to serve as director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday.
Rudd, a former Special Forces officer from South Carolina, will be promoted to general. He currently serves as the second-in-command of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, responsible for U.S. forces in the greater Pacific region.
The NSA, which specializes in signals intelligence and cyberespionage, is one of the world’s most powerful surveillance agencies, siphoning vast amounts of data through electronic interceptions and spyware. Cyber Command is the Pentagon’s top cyberwarfare unit, focused on hacking and defending military networks against foreign spies and saboteurs.
In a “dual-duty” arrangement that dates back to 2010, the NSA director also oversees Cyber Command.
Rudd did not respond to a message seeking comment. The NSA referred questions to the White House. Cyber Command did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; writing by Christian Martinez; editing by Franklin Paul and Chizu Nomiyama)
