Internationally recognized for leading the global Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) supply chain movement, Dr. Allan Friedman transformed SBOM from a niche idea into a widely adopted pillar of cybersecurity policy and practice. Over his decade in public service, he has held senior roles at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where he built and led groundbreaking efforts on SBOM, coordinated vulnerability disclosure, and IoT security.  His work shaped technical standards across sectors, and helped drive cybersecurity transparency policies in the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act, and national strategies in Japan, India, and Korea, among others. By partnering with governments and advising global corporations and startups on building trust and resilience into the systems that matter most, Allan Friedman has built the relationships with relevant stakeholders that have forged the modern supply chain community around innovation to address real needs .

Before his time in the Federal government, he spent over a decade as a researcher and technologist, holding positions at Harvard University’s Computer Science department, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Brookings Institution, and George Washington University’s Engineering School. He was an early leader in research on the economics of security, and is the co-author of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press), a popular and accessible guide to the global cyber landscape.

He holds a degree in computer science from Swarthmore College and a PhD in public policy from Harvard University. He remains a cheerful instigator of progress.