Dr. Michael Wertheimer is a Senior Advisor at The Chertoff Group where he utilizes his three decades of experience working on the forefront of national security issues and managing strategic, high-risk investments in intelligence collection and analysis. Dr. Wertheimer spent 26 years at the National Security Agency in a career arc that took him from cryptologist to senior technical leader to senior executive leader. He was involved in every major global issue since 1982, including the events of 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror.
In addition to his role at The Chertoff Group, Dr. Wertheimer is currently Professor of Practice in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. He serves as Special Advisor to the Senior Vice President and Provost on cybersecurity programs, Senior Advisor to the Maryland Cybersecurity Center, and co-chair of the National Security Advisory Board.
Previously, Dr. Wertheimer served as the Director of Research at the National Security Agency, where he contributed to breakthroughs in mathematics, engineering, and computer science. In this role, he led over 500 civilian scientists in the advancement of cryptology, cyber security, trusted systems, big-data collection and processing, intelligence analysis, and high-performance computing.
Dr. Wertheimer was an inaugural member of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. From September 2005 to June 2009, he served as an Assistant Deputy Director for Analysis and oversaw Intelligence Community efforts to bring increased depth and accuracy to analysis. He launched A-Space, a Time Magazine Best Invention of 2008 dubbed the ‚“Facebook for Spies” and the Library of National Intelligence.
Prior to joining the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Dr. Wertheimer established and led a research and development team for a rapidly growing small tech company. His work on electronic voting security leading up to the Presidential election in 2004 received international acclaim and national attention across print and television news media.
Dr. Wertheimer is the recipient of many awards for his public service including a Presidential Rank Award, the Exceptional Civilian Service Award, the Directors Distinguished Medal, Director of National Intelligence Reform Medal and the Director of National Intelligence Achievement Medal.
Dr. Wertheimer received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Rochester. He received his Master of Arts degree in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. On a graduate fellowship from the National Security Agency, Dr. Wertheimer completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Expertise:
Cryptography
Cybersecurity
Software and Hardware Development
Big-Data Analysis and Computing
