F. Lynn McNulty
Lt. Col. Frederick “F.” Lynn McNulty (1939–2012) was the first Director of Information Systems Security for the U.S. State Department, a pioneer in the field of cybersecurity, and has been characterized as the “father” of U.S. federal information security. His peers eulogized him as a tireless advocate for the security of the nation. He was an early and persistent champion of information security in government. Cybersecurity McNulty played a key role in influencing U.S. national security policy on everything from export controls on commercial encryption products to the deployment of key federal cybersecurity infrastructure. He was repeatedly called to testify on cybersecurity matters by U.S. House and Senate subcommittees. According to SCMagazine.com’s Robert Bigman, McNulty’s contributions to cybersecurity are “woven into the DNA of almost every government information security policy and program,” and his security initiatives became a model within the federal government and served as the basis for The Computer Security Act of 1987. In its June 15, 2012 edition, Federal Computer Weekly identified McNulty as one of the key thought leaders in the field of cybersecurity during the preceding quarter century. A Fellow of the International Information Systems Security Consortium (ISC)², McNulty was the recipient of the Federal