Kemba Walden is an American lawyer who served as the acting National Cyber Director in 2023. She joined the Office of the National Cyber Director as its principal deputy in May 2022. Walden was previously counsel of the digital crimes unit at Microsoft.

Walden earned a B.A. from Hampton University. She earned a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Walden spent a decade in government service at the United States Department of Homeland Security, most recently at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She was appointed to the Cyber Safety Review Board. Walden later served as counsel at the Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) of Microsoft. She was responsible for launching and leading DCU’s Ransomware Program.

In May 2022, she joined the Office of the National Cyber Director, as its principal deputy. Upon the retirement of John C. Inglis on February 15, 2023, she became the acting director.[3][4] She was involved in the development of a National Cybersecurity Strategy