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Monday, March 18, 2024

Mona Harrington Selected as Assistant Director of CISA’s National Risk Management Center

Prior to joining CISA, Assistant Director Harrington served in several positions for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly has announced the selection of Mona Harrington as Assistant Director for the agency’s National Risk Management Center (NRMC). Harrington started at CISA as Deputy Assistant Director for the NRMC in February 2022 and has been serving as Acting Assistant Director since March.

“I am thrilled to have Mona Harrington at the helm of our National Risk Management Center,” said Director Easterly. “Her extensive experience in cybersecurity, election security, and risk management make her the ideal executive to lead the NRMC as it evolves to meet the threats of today and tomorrow. The cyber and physical risks facing our nation’s critical infrastructure are vast and complex; NRMC’s work is essential to ensuring our collective resources are having the greatest impact on security and resilience.” 

“It’s an honor to be leading the NRMC at such an exciting time,” said Assistant Director Harrington. “Our analysis and insights drive visibility into infrastructure risks that benefit both the private and public sectors, enabling prioritized and coordinated risk mitigation planning. I’m excited to work with the great NRMC team and our partners across government and industry to drive down risk to our critical infrastructure.”

Prior to joining CISA, Assistant Director Harrington served in several positions for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), including as the Executive Director and the Chief Information and Security Officer. As the Executive Director, she partnered with CISA on election critical infrastructure security initiatives and led COVID-19 response efforts; providing online resources to election officials as they prepared to administer elections during the pandemic. In addition, she directed the distribution of more than $425 million in security grant funds and $400 million in CARES Act funds to the states. Harrington assembled new cyber and clearinghouse teams to assist EAC stakeholders leading up to the 2020 election. Harrington can be credited with advancing the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 (VVSG 2.0) to completion in 2021.

While serving as Chief Information and Security Officer at the EAC in 2018, Harrington was credited with modernizing the network and improving the EAC security posture of IT systems and critical infrastructure. Harrington directed the implementation of modern and secure security devices, virtual networks, and migrated to Cloud services. Harrington has proven herself to be an expert change agent and strategic thinker with extensive expertise in leading teams of professionals in the implementation of effective strategies that improve productivity while meeting agency goals.

Before joining the EAC, Harrington spent 17 years in cybersecurity and information technology leadership roles in the Judiciary, including as the Assistant Circuit Executive for IT and Security, overseeing multiple divisions responsible for all aspects of safeguarding software, data, and systems.

Assistant Director Harrington holds a Master of Science from the College of Applied Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology with a concentration in cyber and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare. She also holds a Senior Managers in Government Executive Certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Read more at CISA

Mona Harrington Selected as Assistant Director of CISA’s National Risk Management Center Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Today
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.
Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Todayhttp://www.hstoday.us
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.

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