Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and Rep. Ritchie Torres Join Forces to Expand Leadership of the Global Tech Security Commission

Former U.S. National Security Advisor and Congressional Select Committee on the CCP Member
Assume Honorary Co-Chair Positions of the Global Tech Security Commission

WASHINGTON – Today, the Global Tech Security Commission (GTSC) announced the addition of Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster (U.S. Army ret.), the 26th U.S. National Security Advisor, and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY), a distinguished member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, as Honorary Co-Chairs of the Global Tech Security Commission.

Lt. Gen. McMaster and Representative Torres join an esteemed group of 11 other bipartisan lawmakers and national security experts as Honorary Co-Chairs in guiding the Commission’s vital work of crafting the definitive Global Tech Security Strategy. The Commission comprises an international network of 15 country commissioners, 12 tech sector commissioners and more than 20 strategy commissioners, who each lead expert advisory councils. By integrating both offensive and defensive strategies and fostering the Global Tech Trust Network, the Commission aims to advance freedom through the accelerated adoption and innovation of trusted technology.

“As the authoritarian regime of the Chinese Communist Party is becoming more aggressive and pursues differential advantages over the United States and our allies, it is vital that we develop and apply critical technologies to preserve peace through strength,” said Gen. H.R. McMaster. “We must also protect technologies and intellectual property from state-based espionage. I look forward to serving as Honorary Co-Chair of the Global Tech Security Commission and supporting the commission’s noble mission of protecting our nation and our allies and safeguarding freedom through trusted technology.”

The Global Tech Security Commission was launched in response to the Congressional call for a thorough, bipartisan tech security playbook that would rally and unify like-minded countries, leverage the innovation and resources of the private sector, and build a global network to develop, protect and adopt trusted technologies.

“It is critical that the United States sends a powerful message of strength to the global community, especially in the face of global challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party,” said Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “I’m looking forward to joining the team at the Global Tech Security Commission to advise efforts to amplify this vital national security message. My work on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party supports our nation’s critical mission to deter violations of American sovereignty and transnational aggression by the CCP on our soil.”

Launched in May 2022, the Commission comes at a time when the United States is working to unite its transatlantic and Indo-Pacific allies and partners across a range of critical technology issues in the face of rising authoritarianism around the world.  This international commission is led by Co-Chairs Keith Krach, former U.S. Under Secretary of State and former CEO of DocuSign, and Kersti Kaljulaid, former President of Estonia, and former Chair of the Three Seas Initiative. Its operations are supported by the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and the Atlantic Council.

“The participation of Gen. McMaster and Rep. Torres further enhances our mission to create a comprehensive blueprint for the U.S. and the free world to defend our precious freedom from technological authoritarianism,” said Commission Co-Chair Keith Krach. “Both sides of the aisle recognize that the United States and the free world face ever-increasing technological threats from authoritarian regimes, such as Russia, China, Iran, and others. The bipartisan support for the Global Tech Security Commission conveys the urgency of its mission.”

In addition to Lt. Gen. McMaster and Rep. Torres, the Honorary Co-Chairs of the Global Tech Security Commission include: Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN); Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA-3), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5), Michael McCaul (R-TX-10) and Mike Waltz (R-FL-6); and former Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats.

“The Global Tech Security Commission includes some of the world’s best minds on how critical and emerging technologies can advance freedom – or in the wrong hands, reverse it. H.R. McMaster and Congressman Torres add to this impressive roster of leadership and commitment to our shared mission,” said Michelle Giuda, Director of the Krach Institute of Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. “Their expertise in foreign policy and national security provides the Commission with resources to develop a Global Tech Security Strategy that protects freedom through accelerating the adoption of trusted technology. Our Honorary Co-Chairs recognize the threat these technologies pose under the control of the CCP and their authoritarian allies.”

H.R. McMaster is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Arizona State University.  He has more than three decades of military and national security experience. From 2014-2017, McMaster was the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center and the deputy commanding general, futures, of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He commanded U.S. and multinational units in combat and served as advisor to the most senior commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq. He served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 2017 to 2018.  A distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy, he holds a Ph.D. in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Congressman Ritchie Torres represents New York’s 15th congressional district and currently serves as a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party led by Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI). Congressman Torres has been outspoken on the human rights violations committed by the CCP against the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China.

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About the Global Tech Security Commission

The Global Tech Security Commission, consisting of international commissioners and multi-sector leaders, is committed to safeguarding freedom through the innovation and adoption of trusted technology. Its charter is to integrate comprehensive offensive and defensive strategies for the national security tech sectors into an overarching Global Tech Security Strategy. This mission aims to rally and unify like-minded countries, leverage private sector innovation by building a Global Tech Trust Network, and establish standards based on shared democratic principles.

For the Commission’s latest developments, visit globaltechsecurity.com. Please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org  or techdiplomacy@prf.org for media inquiries about the Global Tech Security Commission.

About the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue

The nonpartisan Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. The Institute’s mission is to advance freedom by driving the innovation and adoption of trusted technology through its leadership in a new category of Tech Diplomacy, integrating technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies and foreign policy tools.​

Follow the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Subscribe to the Institute’s weekly newsletter Tech Diplomacy Now for the latest news at the intersection of high tech and foreign policy.

About the Atlantic Council

Driven by our mission of “shaping the global future together,” the Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges. The Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub researches and devises allied solutions to challenges posed by China.

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