The Defense Department’s chief zero trust officer is retiring this week after nearly four decades of federal service. Randy Resnick, who oversaw the Pentagon’s push to overhaul military network security, announced his departure in an email to colleagues. Having spent nearly 40 years in federal service, Resnick is expected to continue his career at a software firm as the field chief technology officer for government, bringing his extensive experience to the private sector.
Resnick led the development of the department’s framework for adopting a zero trust cybersecurity approach across its networks. The strategy follows the principle of “never trust, always verify,” assuming hackers may already be inside a network and limiting their access to sensitive data through continual verification and tighter controls.
The military aims to meet these zero trust requirements by the end of fiscal 2027. Resnick joined the Pentagon’s CIO office in January 2022 after more than three decades at the National Security Agency, where he served as the agency’s zero trust strategic lead. At the NSA he also held senior positions guiding cybersecurity innovation and information-assurance engineering, giving him insight into both offensive and defensive tactics.
In his email, Resnick wrote that the “crown jewel” of his career was serving as the Chief Zero Trust Officer for the Department of War (a term used by the Trump administration) and leading the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office within the CIO office. He first entered federal service in July 1987, witnessing the early Internet’s growth.
