Clifton Triplett is a new senior cyber and information technology (IT) advisor with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM), OPM acting Director Beth Cobert announced Nov. 4.
The office said Triplett’s appointment fulfills a tenet of OPM’s Cybersecurity Action Report, providing the agency with a resource for advancing cybersecurity-related goals in collaboration with partners and stakeholders.
The action report, Actions to Strengthen Cybersecurity and Protect Critical IT Systems, outlined 15 steps to improve OPM’s systems. Beyond hiring a cybersecurity advisor, it also recommended deploying two-factor strong authentication for all users, expanding continuous monitoring of systems, and installing additional advanced security firewalls to improve perimeter and internal security controls.
“To help build on the federal government’s efforts to strengthen our cybersecurity posture and provide assistance to individuals impacted by the recent cyber intrusions, we must recruit and retain a variety of highly motivated and qualified individuals from this constantly evolving field,” Cobert said in a statement.
“Today’s announcement of hiring Clif builds on the growing capacity here at the Office of Personnel Management and underscores our relentless dedication to protecting this agency’s valuable IT systems and information. Clif’s experience in building information technology infrastructure is top-rated, and I am excited to have him on board,” she added.
Triplett will report directly to the OPM acting director and work alongside OPM’s CIO. Triplett is to serve as an advocate for advancing the state of enterprise architecture and cybersecurity, including information technology investments and services.
The new advisor will also support the ongoing response to the major breaches revealed earlier in 2015, complete development of the OPM plan to mitigate future incidents and recommend further improvements to secure the agency’s IT architecture, OPM said.
“I’m honored to join the dedicated team at OPM and I’m eager to immediately get to work with our interagency partners. We all have a role to play in securing our systems and protecting our information, and I’m committed to supporting these critical efforts across the federal government,” Triplett said.
Triplett has 30 years of industry and IT organizational transformation experience, working with top companies in the defense, telecommunications, automotive and aerospace industries, OPM said. Previously he served as a managing partner at SteelPointe Partners, a global management consulting firm.