WASHINGTON (April 27, 2021)—The R Street Institute is pleased to announce the hire of Ayan Islam as the associate policy director of Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats.

Islam was most recently a cybersecurity strategist at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Her extensive portfolio includes work with Operation Warp Speed and the Aviation Cybersecurity Initiative.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ayan Islam to the team,” said Tatyana Bolton, R Street’s Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats policy director. “Her experience and interdisciplinary background will be invaluable to R Street and our partners.”

“I look forward to working with her to further our critical infrastructure’s security through public policy research, public-private partnerships and pragmatic policy implementation,” added Bolton.

Regarding her prior experience, Islam remarked that, “During my time at CISA, I learned the value of interagency and industry collaboration, but also saw the complexities of the cybersecurity ecosystem and the challenges caused by our nation’s disparate cybersecurity and privacy legal framework.”

Of her new role, she said, “I am delighted to join R Street as they try to address these challenges and undertake crucial cybersecurity and privacy research.”

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