Indian-American appointed to key counter spying job

Indian-American Anita M. Singh has been appointed to a key post in the Justice Department's National Security Division (NSD) as part of a restructuring to counter state-sponsored economic espionage and proliferation, including through cyberspace.

The strategic changes are designed to put additional focus on the protection of national assets from such threats and to empower US attorneys as they conduct outreach on these issues, assistant attorney general for National Security John P. Carlin announced.

Singh, who has been appointed Chief of Staff and Counsellor after serving in an acting capacity for nearly a-year and-a-half "focuses on strategic management issues, including the design of structural changes to support work in emerging threat areas".

Singh joined NSD as Deputy Chief of Staff in 2011 after serving as director for intelligence programmes and reform at the White House on the National Security Council staff, where she focused on cyber-related issues.

Singh began her legal career through the justice department's honours programme, serving in the criminal division's computer crime and intellectual property section, and later as a counsel, focused on cybersecurity, to several assistant attorneys general.

Prior to entering government service, Singh was a management strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. She graduated with her JD and AM from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

"The threat landscape we face is ever-changing and evolving, and while our top priority will always be combating terrorism, we must also sharpen our focus and increase our attention on the emerging threats of economic espionage and proliferation," said Carlin.

"We have assembled a talented, dedicated and experienced team of seasoned professionals to launch this new phase for the National Security Division," he said.

"These changes will help us continue confronting today's threats while readying the NSD workforce to engage what we see as the key emerging threats to our national security," Carlin said.