Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) — The Hoover Institution at Stanford University is pleased to announce that Anne Neuberger, former US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology and one of the nation’s foremost authorities on national security and technology policy, has been appointed the William C. Edwards Distinguished Visiting Fellow for the 2025–2026 academic year.
From 2021 to 2025, Neuberger served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor, where she was the senior official responsible for shaping national policy on cyber and emerging technologies, including quantum computing, advanced telecommunications (5G/6G), and cyber warfare. In this role, she worked with governments around the world, including convening seventy-one nations in a groundbreaking coalition to counter ransomware, disrupt cryptocurrency-enabled illicit finance, and address other transnational cyber threats.
She was also a principal architect of multiple Executive Orders and National Security Memoranda, including Executive Order 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, which established baseline security standards for federal networks and software supply chains; National Security Memorandum-10 on Promoting United States Leadership in Quantum Computing While Mitigating Risks to Vulnerable Cryptographic Systems, which directed the federal government to inventory vulnerable systems, transition to quantum-resistant cryptography, and coordinate with industry to safeguard critical data against future quantum-enabled decryption; and the January 2025 Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity, which advanced AI-enabled defenses, post-quantum cryptography adoption, and zero-trust architectures. Together, these initiatives strengthened US cyber defenses, modernized federal networks, improved public-private threat information-sharing, and advanced national technology policy.
Prior to her service at the White House, Neuberger held numerous senior leadership positions at the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Pentagon from 2007-2021. As NSA’s civilian deputy director of intelligence operations, she directed thousands of intelligence professionals. Neuberger also established and led the NSA Cybersecurity Directorate, a 4,000-person organization that launched the agency’s first unclassified center for sharing threat information with the private sector, and as the NSA’s first Chief Risk Officer, she created its enterprise risk management program and rebuilt key relationships with private industry and foreign partners following the 2013 unauthorized disclosures. She has been recognized with the Department of Defense and NSA’s highest civilian honors and was awarded a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional service.
Before entering government service as a White House Fellow, Neuberger directed technology and operations at a large financial services firm. She has also played an active role in transformative non-profit initiatives throughout her career.
She is the author, most recently, of China Is Winning the Cyberwar: America Needs a New Strategy of Deterrence (Foreign Affairs, September/October 2025). In the article, Neuberger warns of the growing threat posed by Chinese state-sponsored cyber operations and argues for a bold new strategy of AI-enabled cyber defenses and offensive deterrence to restore America’s technological advantage. This vision reflects the focus of her upcoming work at Hoover, where she will be actively engaged in a range of Technology Policy Accelerator (TPA) initiatives, including leading a major new project on rethinking deterrence in an era of AI and emerging technologies. Her work will draw on her extensive government experience to advance policy innovation, strengthen national resilience, and mentor the next generation of leaders in AI, cyber and technology policy.
For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.
