Marcus H. Sachs

Executive Director
National Security Policy, Verizon

Marcus Sachs is Verizon's Executive Director of Government Affairs for National Security Policy. As part of Verizon's National Security Policy team, he coordinates cyber policy issues related to the United States Communications Sector with federal, state, and local government officials. Mr. Sachs serves on and supports several public/private advisory working groups and task forces including the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, the Communication Sector Coordinating Council, the Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security, the Department of Homeland Security's Cross Sector Cyber Security Working Group, the Information Security Alliance, and the US Chamber of Commerce. Within Verizon, he assists all business units with the integration of cyber-specific national security policy matters into network operations, support to critical infrastructure owners and operators, and to the protection of Verizon's global corporate assets. In 2007 and 2008 he was a member of the CSIS Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency. Since 2003 he has volunteered as the Director of the SANS Internet Storm Center.

 

Mr. Sachs' professional experience includes a 20 year military career as an officer in the United States Army followed by two years of federal civilian service at the White House and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. After retiring from the military in 2001 with the rank of Major, he was appointed by the President to serve concurrently on the staff of the National Security Council as the Director for Communication Infrastructure Protection in the White House Office of Cyberspace Security, and on the staff of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. The Board was responsible for the development of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, published in February 2003. Mr. Sachs joined the National Cyber Security Division of the US Department of Homeland Security in June 2003, where he was responsible for developing the implementation plan for the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. While working for DHS, he developed the initial concept and strategy for the creation of the United States Computer Emergency Response Team.

 

After leaving government service and prior to joining Verizon, Marcus Sachs led the Washington, D.C. research team of SRI International's Computer Science Laboratory. His group primarily supported the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Security Research and Development Center, as well as the operations and analysis center of the U.S. Department of Defense's Cyber Threat Analytics research project. He has appeared on several domestic and foreign television and radio networks as a computer security expert, and continues to be frequently quoted by the on-line and printed media.

 

Mr. Sachs holds a Master of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Information Security from James Madison University, a Master of Science in Science and Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College, the Army Engineer School, the Army Computer Science School, and the Army's Airborne and Air Assault schools. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University, and is a senior faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute. Mr. Sachs is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Professional Engineer. He and his wife live in Virginia.