White House Appoints Federal Chief Information Security Officer

The Office of Management and Budget announced Grant Schneider will be the second federal chief information security officer.

As such, Schneider will lead cybersecurity strategy across the executive branch and chair the CISO Council. Schneider has been filling the CISO role in an acting capacity and is the National Security Council’s senior director for cybersecurity. He will continue serving in his position on the NSC, according to an administrative official. 

“Grant Schneider brings extensive cybersecurity experience well aligned to lead efforts in securing government systems from cyberattacks,” said Margaret Weichert, OMB’s chief management official.

Schneider previously served as the Defense Intelligence Agency's chief information officer and he was deputy to the first federal CISO, Gregory Touhill. Touhill stepped down from the role in January 2017, just before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

"Grant was my deputy when I served in the position and has a firm grasp on the threats, vulnerabilities and current cyber issues. We need the federal CISO as leadership is needed to implement best practices to protect the people's information," Touhill told Nextgov. "I learned in the military, when you don't have someone 'calling cadence,' what you get is a mob." 

Editor's Note: This article was updated with a comment from Gregory Touhill.