| Harry Coker | |
| Office: | United States National Cyber Director |
| Status: | Incumbent |
| President: | Joe Biden |
| Term Start: | December 15, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Drenan Dudley (acting) |
Harry Coker is an American lawyer and national security expert. He is currently serving as National Cyber Director.[1] Coker served as the executive director of the National Security Agency from 2017 to 2019.
Since 2019, Coker has worked as a senior fellow at the Auburn University McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. A graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, Coker was a naval officer for twenty years before joining the Central Intelligence Agency in 2000.
Coker graduated from the United States Naval Academy.[2] He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and attended the Naval Postgraduate School.
Coker served as a surface warfare officer for his first six years in the United States Navy and was an engineering duty officer until he retired as a Commander in 2000.
After leaving the Navy, Coker joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). For seventeen years, he worked in the CIA Directorate for Digital Innovation, the Directorate of Science and Technology, and the Director's area.[3] Coker was the director of the open source enterprise and served as the deputy director of the CIA office of public affairs. Coker served on the executives diversity and inclusion council (EDIC).
From 2017 to 2019, Coker was the executive director at the National Security Agency.[4] In 2019, Coker became a senior fellow at the Auburn University McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. In 2020, Coker was a member national security staff during the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[5]
On July 17, 2023, it was reported that Coker was being considered as a potential nominee for National Cyber Director.[6] He was formally nominated to the position on July 25, 2023. If confirmed, he would succeed Kemba Walden, the acting National Cyber Director. The Senate Homeland Security Committee held a nomination hearing for Coker on November 2, 2023.[7] On November 15, 2023, the committee advanced his nomination by a 9–6 vote.[8] [9] On December 12, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 59–40 vote.[10] Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 59–40 vote.[11]