On Thursday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that Mark Weatherford has been appointed as the new Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). Weatherford, who will start in mid-November, will be charged with managing cybersecurity operations and communications resilience for the DHS.
The DHS created the Cybersecurity-specific position in Septmber, in order to address the importance of cybersecurity to the DHS and the Nation.
Weatherford most recently served as the Vice President and Chief Security Officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), where he directed the organization’s critical infrastructure and cybersecurity program. He previously served as the Chief Information Security Officer in the State of California’s Office of Information Security, and as Chief Security Officer for the State of Colorado, where he helped establish the state’s first cybersecurity program. Weatherford is a former Naval Cryptologic Officer, where he led the Navy’s Computer Network Defense operations and the Naval Computer Incident Response Team.
Suzanne Spaulding also came on board recently as Deputy Under Secretary for the NPPD, and will focus on managing risk and security for critical infrastructure and federal facilities.
The department’s former Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity, Phil Reitinger, resigned in May and recently joined Sony as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer.
The DHS’ cybersecurity role is now split, with Weatherford and Spaulding each focusing on their specific responsbilities.
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity Greg Schaffer, who has served in the role for the last five months , will return to his position as Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C).
