OPM's new cyber adviser reports directly to the agency boss

The Office of Personnel Management is shaking up its IT structure with the addition of Clifton Triplett to advise Acting Director Beth Cobert on cybersecurity and IT issues.

A new senior hire was promised in OPM's cybersecurity action report, issued in June in the wake of the devastating breach of the agency's personnel databases. The attack netted information on 21 million federal workers and compromised a classified trove of security clearance documents.

OPM is still struggling to update legacy systems and obtain funds from Congress for needed modernization.

Triplett, a U.S. Military Academy graduate and military and industry veteran, will join OPM to advocate for improved cybersecurity and help guide continuous, forward-looking improvements to the agency's IT situation.  OPM said he will report directly to Cobert. Presumably he will work alongside CIO Donna Seymour, whose ouster has been called for by some on Capitol Hill.

Triplett comes to OPM from SteelPointe Partners, where he was a managing partner.

"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," Cobert said in a statement. "Clif's experience in building information technology infrastructure is top-rated, and I am excited to have him on board."

"I'm honored to join the dedicated team at OPM and I'm eager to immediately get to work with our interagency partners," Triplett said in a statement.