NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Even the best of leaders suffer failures, but the response by leaders to adversity -- including adversity in the realm of national cybersecurity -- is what's truly important.

This was the message that Ret. U.S. Navy Admiral Michael G. "Mike" Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, relayed to attendees at the 2013 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit.

Mullen stressed the importance of leadership and accountability by opening with a story about his early days in the Navy. He took command of the gasoline tanker USS Noxubee in the Mediterranean at the age of 26, and shortly thereafter the ship ran into a buoy, the result of which was a review of his efforts that he characterized as getting "an F." He spent a considerable amount of time learning from the incident, but he still loved being held accountable for the decisions he made.

"Nobody else hit the buoy," Mullen said. "[The error] was all mine."

Related to the theme of accepting responsibility, Mullen lambasted politicians on Capitol Hill for failing to prioritize the needs of U.S. citizens above party politics in order to respond to critical issues that threaten America's standing in the world. He was especially critical of Congress for its inability to reduce the national debt and repair the broken K-12 education system.

Mullen said cybersecurity is among the issues that keep him awake at night, calling it the "only existential threat