Washington, DC – Interim Chief Technology Officer Barney
Krucoff this week named Suneel Cherukuri as the new Chief Information Security
Officer (CISO) overseeing cybersecurity for the District of Columbia
Government.
Cherukuri, who has been working at the Office of the Chief
Technology Officer (OCTO) for 10 years as a contractor and employee, has over
20 years of industry experience in large enterprise network environments
specializing in cyber security architecture, design, engineering and
operations. Cherukuri replaces former CISO John MacMichael who left for the
private sector earlier this year and will report directly to Krucoff.
“Suneel provided critical expertise as OCTO focused on
expanding and strengthening our cybersecurity efforts over the past decade,”
Krucoff said. “This is a well-deserved promotion which will allow Suneel to
step forward into the citywide leadership role for cybersecurity.”
Prior to OCTO, Cherukuri worked at Networking For Future, a
DC-based IT firm. He also lived in Melbourne, Australia where he worked at one
of the largest banks, ANZ, as a Senior Technical Analyst and as IT Security
consultant at Dimension Data.
“This is a true honor and a great responsibility,” Cherukuri
said. “Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges that is faced in today’s
world of digital governance. We can never be 100 percent protected from all the
cyber threats, the key is to be better prepared by investing wisely in
technology and people and focus on reducing overall risk factors.
As CISO, Cherukuri will provide leadership and day-to-day
coordination for securing and protecting DC’s information resources, and the
supporting infrastructure, from external and internal threats, while
administering the overall security operations.
He will also oversee three divisions within OCTO:
* Security Architecture and Engineering which is responsible
for tools and technologies protecting the District’s assets and resources
* Security Operation Center (SOC) which monitors the
District’s cyber security posture 24/7 across the network and all systems,
detects and leads OCTO’s response to security incidents, and escalates and
reports on events.
* Governance Risk and Compliance which plays a vital role in
development and oversight of information technology policies, procedures and
standards for the District.
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