Richard Hale oversees the information assurance, cyber defense, and critical infrastructure protection efforts of the Defense Information Systems Agency. In this role he is responsible for helping to ensure that DoD has an overall approach to achieving information assurance, and then for ensuring that DISA is producing the Department-wide cyber standards, risk management processes, products, and services necessary to the achievement of the DoD’s approach. The overall goal of the DISA cyber defense effort is to give commanders freedom of action in cyberspace.

He previously worked at the Naval Research Laboratory where he started and led a group that did enduring work in military network security, command and control security, internet-protocol security, security architecture, multi-level security, operating system security, and cryptography. During this time, he participated in the design and analysis of a variety of Navy and Department of Defense information and communication systems.

He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Virginia.