NERC CSO departs for newly created DHS role

Mark Weatherford, former CSO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), has been appointed to a newly created position at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Serving as deputy under secretary for cybersecurity within the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), the DHS component charged with reducing risk, Weatherford will focus on ensuring strong cybersecurity operations and communications for the department. He is expected to start in mid-November. Prior to his role at NERC, Weatherford was CISO of the state of California. A former naval cryptologic officer, Weatherford also previously led the Navy's computer network defense operations.