PERSON: Juliette Kayyem

National Security Analyst

Juliette N. Kayyem (born August 16, 1969) is an American former government official and author. She is host of the Boston-based radio channel WGBH (FM)’s podcast The SCIF, and has also appeared on CNN and Boston Public Radio, and written columns for The Boston Globe.

Kayyem was formerly Massachusetts’ first Undersecretary for Homeland Security, and served as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Homeland Security under the Obama Administration. She is also a former candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, and has also held positions as a Belfer Lecturer in International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy.

Kayyem also previously served a senior advisor to the NSO Group, the Israeli tech firm known for the Pegasus spyware tool. In October 2019, Kayyem was made a contributor by the Washington Post – an appointment that was criticized by Citizen Lab in the context of her role at NSO and the criticism led to Kayyem stepping down just days later. In February 2020, Kayyem also left her role at NSO.

Born in Los Angeles to Lebanese parents, Kayyem graduated from Harvard University with her bachelor’s degree in 1991 and from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor degree in 1995.

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