DHS names new top cybersecurity official

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced Thursday that Mark Weatherford has been named deputy under secretary for cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD).

Weatherford is the first to serve in the new role, created last month as a recognition of the growing importance of cybersecurity. He will be in charge of the department's cybersecurity operations including managing partnerships with the private sector.

The announcement is part of a series of of personnel moves for DHS's cybersecurity team. Suzanne Spaulding recently join the department as deputy under secretary for the NPPD, where she will focus on securing critical infrastructure, federal facilities and advanced identity management.

Spaulding and Weatherford together will replace Phillip Reitinger, who resigned in June to spend more time with his family. He was named chief information security officer at Sony last month. His duties have been divided between two positions as cybersecurity gains prominence.

Weatherford most recently served as vice president and chief security officer for the North American Electric Reliability Corp., where he was in charge of the organization's critical infrastructure and cybersecurity program. He previously served as the chief security officer for the state of Colorado.

Weatherford is also a former Naval cryptological officer, where he led the Navy's Computer Network Defense operations as well as the Naval Computer Incident Response Team. He will start in mid-November.

Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity Greg Schaffer, who has occupied that role for the past five month, will return to his position as assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications. Bobbie Stempfley, who filled in for Shaffer, will return to her role as deputy assistant secretary.

This post was updated at 2:28 p.m. to clarify that both Spaulding and Weatherford will take over Reitinger's former duties.

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