At MITRE, There’s Space for Implementing More National Security

Robert Sumner looks up and sees big challenges, and huge opportunities. As a 2026 Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Fellow with the Center for a New American Security, he’s thinking critically about the evolving domain of space-system cybersecurity—how emerging technologies and national security policy come together in this new realm.

“As space systems become more complex, interconnected, and cyber-dependent, mission success requires a more integrated approach to how they’re designed, integrated, developed, and sustained,” he says.

By day at MITRE, Sumner addresses space-based capability issues as a principal applied cybersecurity engineer in our National Space Program Department. He says working for MITRE provides unmatched “freedom to pursue hard problems freely, for the betterment of national interests.” He brings to MITRE a background rich in education, experience, and service to the country, all of which inform his contributions to security in this final frontier.

An All-Encompassing Field

As leader for Project 60 under the System and Engineering Directorate at MITRE’s National Space Program, Sumner says he’s involved “in everything from digital engineering and space systems, to space system cybersecurity, to modeling and simulation.” Project 60 addresses the need for threat-informed space systems engineering and architecture support across national space missions.

In addition, Sumner steers Project STEEL TOWN, a MITRE National Space Program/Space Enterprise Mission. It’s a division-led initiative that fills a critical gap across the Department of War and the Intelligence Community by providing a uniform, repeatable framework for conducting end-to-end cyber threat enumeration specific to space systems.

Using a novel methodology for the end-to-end life cycle of space systems, STEEL TOWN advances the cyberthreat intelligence landscape applied against commercial and U.S. government space interests. Sumner says it’s the first approach of its kind—with the capability of “looking at the entire life cycle as opposed to individual snapshots,” he explains.

And with what Sumner calls the “phenomenal” MITRE ecosystems of ATT&CK® and D3FEND™ in place, the team doesn’t have to start from scratch in these efforts.

“We don’t need to build something new,” he says. “My role is helping to leverage what we have in a new way and bringing concepts to fruition.”

Fellowship Offers a Deep Dive into National Security

As a Next Generation Fellow, Sumner has even greater scope in addressing these kinds of topics.

He says he first learned about the Shawn Brimley fellowship while working for Booz Allen Hamilton. Developed for younger professionals between the ages of 27 and 35, the program steers and supports emerging leaders in the national security space.

“It’s a think tank dedicated to cultivating a bipartisan network of emerging leaders who will shape the future of U.S. national security policy,” he explains.

Although Sumner wasn’t selected when he first applied, his determination to try again helped fuel both his education and aspirations.

Subsequently, after completing master’s degrees at The George Washington University and the University of New South Wales and entering the final stretch of his doctoral program at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, he made it this year as one of 26 fellows selected from a field of hundreds. The fellowship includes publishing opportunities, monthly opportunities for interaction with political appointees, and a trip to Taiwan to meet with the country’s national security leaders in industry and government.

Through Lines to a Mission

An ingrained belief in service to our country has driven Sumner throughout his career. 

His father and grandfather served in the U.S. Air Force and Navy, respectively. After graduation from The Citadel with a bachelor’s degree in history, Sumner served in the Army as an infantry officer. He then had a stint with the Joint Readiness Training Center as an observer-controller, where he says he was struck by “seeing—firsthand—new technology being tested and implemented.”

And it seems Sumner himself has inspired a career path—with a twist. His mother, Erika Sumner, recently joined MITRE as a principal decision analyst after a long government career.

“National security is steeped within our family tree,” he observes.