OPM Names New Acting CIO

Acting OPM Director Beth Cobert has just announced that the acting CIO of the organization would be David Vargas. He will be replacing former CIO Donna Seymour who faced the flak of millions when the organization failed to protect records from IT hackers last year. This appointment seems to be temporary as the organization is still seeking a talented person to take over the post permanently.

When OPM made the Announcement?

OPM made the announcement for this change it was testifying before the House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government regarding the budget request for the next fiscal year, i.e., 2017.

Who is Vargas?

Vargas is the OPM’s associate CIO who has been serving the Department of Housing and Urban Development since over 20 years. He joined OPM in 2013 and was named as the Associate CIO in the year 2014. He has played an active role in the organizations’ IT modernization plan that has increased the organizations’ budget from $21 million to $37 million.

What Next?

Cobert also explained that the organization needs to fill Seymour’s position by someone who can get the things done. The new leader needs to have an in-depth understanding of the modernizing IT systems and cyber security. It is worthy to add here that the former CIO faced a lot of criticism in this regard as the cyber security breach that occurred at OPM revealed the data of over 22 million people last year and raised serious questions about whether the organization has a strong IT security system in place or not.

No Room for Mistakes?

Cobert also announced that the organization is now working in collaboration with Department of Homeland Security to ensure that it has the best cyber security and the breach situation never occurs again. The organization is also working with the Defense Department to set up the National Background Investigations Bureau that’s supposed to replace the Federal Investigative Services in the near future.

The New Plan

OPM also needs a deft CIO to help the new SES team members to carry on with the latest modernization efforts. Cobert said that the SES team is doing great but adding in some expert advice would only be beneficial for the organization as a whole. It seems that the organization is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that it has an error-free cyber security system as well as a modernized IT system in place.