The Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP) is a bureau of the United States Department of State responsible for leading U.S. foreign policy on cyberspace, digital technologies, and related issues of security, economic growth, and human rights.[3] It was established in April 2022 under H.R.1251 - Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021[4] to consolidate and elevate cyber and digital policy functions that had previously been spread across multiple State Department offices and to provide a focal point for U.S. cyber diplomacy.[a]
Independent analysts describe the bureau as a central instrument of U.S. cyber diplomacy and as part of the implementation of the Cyber Diplomacy Act, which codified State's role in global cyber negotiations and capacity building.[6][7]
In July 2025, it was reported that the CDP was in the first stage of dismantlement as part of a larger internal State Department reorganization.[8]
History
Proposals for a dedicated cyber and digital policy bureau were advanced by members of Congress and by the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which argued that the State Department needed a lead entity to coordinate international cyber policy and norms.[7][6] In 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to create a Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy and to appoint an Ambassador-at-Large to lead it.[9]
Authority and role of the bureau codified 22 U.S. Code § 10301 - United States international cyberspace policy[10][11] and the Biden administration requested a budget of $37 million upon its formation.[12]
Operations
The bureau formally commenced operations in April 2022. A contemporaneous report by Nextgov described CDP as the State Department's "first Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy", created to modernize U.S. diplomacy around emerging technologies and cyber threats.[13]
It was organized into three policy units—international cyberspace security, international information and communications policy, and digital freedom—and senior Foreign Service officer Jennifer Bachus served as its first acting head after Senate confirmation.[14]
Prior to Bachus' confirmation, the bureau was working with a team of 60 and it was announced the State Department intended to add an additional 30 before the end of that year.[15]
The Government Accountability Office's 2022 and 2024 reviews of State's cyber diplomacy efforts identified the creation of CDP as a key step in elevating cyber priorities and consolidating previously fragmented responsibilities into a single bureau led by an Ambassador-at-Large.[2][1]
Organization
CDP is led by a senior bureau official, with additional leadership posts including a principal deputy assistant secretary and office directors.[16] The bureau also supports the work of the Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, a Senate-confirmed position created to serve as the department's senior diplomat on cyber and digital issues.[1][17][18]
As of 2024–2025, CDP's work is organized into several offices, including:[b]
an office focused on bilateral and multilateral engagement on cyberspace and digital issues;
an office for international cyberspace security and stability, including cyber norms and incident response; and
an office focused on digital freedom, governance, and human rights online.
The bureau also coordinates with regional bureaus, other functional bureaus, and interagency partners on matters such as cyber capacity building, digital trade rules, and technology standards.[1][7]
Reorganization
In 2024–2025, the bureau's structure and placement within the department became a subject of congressional oversight and media scrutiny. GAO's 2024 report found that while State had taken steps to implement a cyber diplomacy strategy through CDP, the new bureau still faced challenges, including clarifying roles and responsibilities and developing performance measures to assess its work.[1] A subsequent GAO testimony to Congress in 2025 reiterated that CDP was central to U.S. international cyber efforts but highlighted ongoing staffing and coordination issues.[5][20]
Media scrutiny
In April 2025, Nextgov/FCW reported that under a department-wide reorganization, the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy was moved under the State Department's economic growth portfolio and that the plan included eliminating roughly 15 percent of the department's US-based staff.[21]Cybersecurity Dive similarly reported that the reorganization would move CDP and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and quoted advocates who warned that the changes could weaken the department's cyber diplomacy capacity and run counter to the intent of the Cyber Diplomacy Act.[22]
Commentary from Aspen Digital and other observers has argued that these staffing and structural decisions have implications beyond the department, because CDP is one of the main channels through which the United States engages allies, rivals, and multistakeholder forums on issues such as cyber norms, digital trade, and artificial intelligence governance.[7][23]
↑State and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) describe CDP's mission as addressing national security challenges, economic opportunities, and implications for U.S. values associated with cyberspace and digital technologies, and as elevating cyberspace as an "organizing concept" for U.S. diplomacy.[1][5]
↑The titles and number of offices have evolved; State's public descriptions group the work under offices responsible for bilateral and multilateral engagement, cyber security, and digital freedom and governance.[18][19]
Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment
Iran Action Group
Foreign Service Grievance Board
Secretary's Open Forum
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