General Joshua Rudd
Director, National Security Agency
Joshua Monroe Rudd was born in 1971 in California and grew up in South Carolina. He earned an undergraduate degree from Furman University and was commissioned into the Army through ROTC. He also holds an M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College. He has also completed other educational opportunities offered by the military. He completed and graduated several special forces qualifications and courses.
Rudd served in foreign assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and became commander of Delta Force. He commanded every echelon as a Special Forces officer. He served as Chief of Staff and Commander of Special Operations Command Pacific before becoming Deputy Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
In March 2026, the U.S. Senate confirmed Rudd as Director of the National Security Agency and head of the U.S. Cyber Command. He is also Chief of the Central Security Service.
He is married and has two daughters.
In the News…
General Joshua Rudd, Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, is restructuring the NSA. The general is establishing organizations to address artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, warfighting, global intelligence, and China.
General Rudd has reinstituted the Tailored Access Operations (TAO) elite hacking unit this year. The unit is expected to receive significant funding in the coming fiscal year’s budget.
The general has relied on his experience as Deputy Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to increase the NSA’s focus on countering Chinese operations, including influence campaigns, cyber espionage, and information warfare, as well as the use of artificial intelligence and social media to impact conflicts.
