This is the Navy’s new top cybersecurity official

The Navy has tapped Aaron Weis as its new chief information officer, the service announced Sept. 27.

Weis most recently served as a senior adviser to the Defense Department’s chief information officer. The Navy’s choice to select him as CIO was first reported Sept. 26 by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Navy, Weis will “serve as the Principal Staff Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy on information technology management, digital, data and cyber strategy.”

Navy Under Secretary Thomas Modly told reporters in August that the Navy was creating major administrative and policy reforms in cybersecurity, to include changes to the CIO structure.

Amid a flurry of cybersecurity woes in recent years, the Navy sought these changes to make it more adept and agile at addressing cybersecurity and challenges associated with the larger information environment.

“This new DoN CIO team will not only integrate key Navy and Marine Corps Information Technology initiatives to support our war fighters, but also will also provide an opportunity to strengthen information technology (IT) talent across the naval services," Modly said. "They will be responsible to the SECNAV to ensure that naval IT spending is directed to the highest value opportunity areas as established in the National Defense Strategy.”

The new office Weis will oversee four directorates:

• The Navy’s chief technology office, which will be responsible for guiding acquisition and priorities around the technical infrastructure;
• The service’s chief digital strategy office, which will be responsible for moving the Navy into a digital era by leveraging applications, adopting best commercial practices and managing digital information;
• The Navy’s chief data office, which will help structure data that can be used in areas such as artificial intelligence and analytics; and
• A chief information security/cybersecurity office that will help guide the Navy through a cultural shift to improve poor cyber hygiene, which has been the culprit for major breaches.

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