Zero Trust, the Department of Defense ... and You

Katie Arrington

CISO for Acquisition and Sustainment within the U.S. Department of Defense

Katherine "Katie" Arrington currently is the Chief Information Security Officer, CISO(A) to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, ASD(A). In this position, she serves as the central hub and integrator within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, OUSD(A&S), to align acquisition cyber strategy. As the CISO (A), Ms. Arrington is responsible to ensure the incorporation of integrated security/cyber efforts within USD(A&S) with the purpose of providing a focused and streamlined governance approach and to provide a central coordination point and common compliance standard that serves to synchronize the various existing disparate cyber security efforts and standards across the Department and Industry as it relates to A&S equities. Ms. Arrington is leading efforts that will help to ensure a robust Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM), establish Defense Industrial Base Security and Resilience, and establish a common standard in Cyber Security Standards. She also meets with key Cyber personnel (across both DoD and Federal Agencies) as well as legislators to ensure that changes made in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are supportive in reaching the goals of decreased spending and increased compliance with current and future standards. Before assuming her position in OUSD(A&S), Ms. Arrington had an extensive career as a legislator and senior cyber executive. Ms. Arrington was a candidate for South Carolina US House of Representative 2018 and a South Carolina State Representative for 2 terms. She has substantial experience and capabilities in cyber strategy, policy, enablement and implementation across a wide range of domains, including DoD, Federal, Healthcare and State. She acquired her experience in cyber over the past 15 years with Booz Allen Hamilton, Centuria Corporation and Dispersive Networks. This has given her the unique experience of working at a large business, small business and non-traditional contractor for the government. She attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.

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