Biden campaign hires new CISO, CTO
Days after putting out a notice for cyber openings, the campaign confirmed it had brought on Chris DeRusha as its Chief Information Security Officer and Jackie Chang as Chief Technology Officer.
The presidential campaign for former vice president Joe Biden has hired Michigan Chief Security Officer Chris DeRusha as its Chief information Security Officer, the campaign confirmed.
In a statement, the campaign also announced that it has hired Jacky Chang, a former senior engineer from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, as its CTO.
"Biden for President takes cybersecurity seriously and is proud to have hired high quality personnel with a diverse breadth of experience, knowledge, and expertise to ensure our campaign remains secure,” the campaign said. “Jacky and Chris will be central to strengthening the infrastructure we've built to mitigate cyber threats, bolster our voter protection efforts, and enhance the overall efficiency and security of the entire campaign."
The Washington Post first reported the hires, days after FCW spotted a pair of job postings put out by the campaign for cybersecurity personnel obliquely mentioned working with a CISO. DeRusha was a senior cybersecurity analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, where he oversaw federal cybersecurity programs and advised the White House. He also led Ford Motor Company’s Enterprise Vulnerability Management program and worked as an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security’s deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity.
The campaign said Chang would be taking an unpaid leave from her role as Senior Technologist at Schmidt Futures, where she evaluated the social impact of technical projects, according to her bio on the firm’s website. She replaces Dan Woods, who told the Post he left the campaign following Biden’s successful primary.
The hirings round out the Biden campaign’s senior technology team during an election year when the federal government’s top cybersecurity officials warned they have seen evidence that foreign countries “continue to try to influence public sentiments and shape voter perceptions” through the “spread [of] false information and propaganda about political processes and candidates on social media.”