The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed a Cape Elizabeth resident to lead the country’s international response to cybersecurity threats.

Nathaniel Fick was unanimously confirmed as the State Department’s first Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

Fick, who has degrees from Dartmouth College, Harvard’s Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, served in the Marine Corps as an infantry and reconnaissance officer. From 2012-19, he was chief executive officer of Endgame, a cybersecurity software company. After that company was purchased by Elastic Security, he was named general manager of Elastic Security and led that company’s information security business.

Fast Company, a business publication focusing on technology, named Fick one of its 100 most creative people in business in 2018 and Endgame as one of the 100 best cloud companies in the world.

Fick’s nomination was championed by Sen. Angus King, who co-chairs the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a panel charged with developing consensus on a strategic approach to defending the U.S. in cyberspace.

Fick’s confirmation, King said, is “a historic, long overdue step to address our rapidly-changing cyber environment” and will make the country “better positioned to respond to growing threats, inform the development of global rules of engagement and create desperately needed international rules for cyber.”

The U.S., King said, has lagged in developing a strategy “to defend us in this war without borders. I hope that ends today.”

As ambassador at large, Fick will work with the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the State Department, developing policies that encourage responsible state behavior in cyberspace and protect U.S. security.

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