ALBANY, N.Y. — A man who is described as a “leading expert in cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and intelligence” is New York’s first chief cyber officer. Colin Ahern will lead cross-agency efforts to protect New York State from “increasingly prevalent and sophisticated” cyber threats — “working to ensure the security and cyber resilience” of the state’s […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — A man who is described as a “leading expert in cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and intelligence” is New York’s first chief cyber officer.
Colin Ahern will lead cross-agency efforts to protect New York State from “increasingly prevalent and sophisticated” cyber threats — “working to ensure the security and cyber resilience” of the state’s information assets and “critical infrastructure and integrity” of the state’s information assets, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a June 27 announcement.
Ahern will oversee all cyber-threat assessment, mitigation, and response efforts — working with executive management at every state agency to manage cyber risks and prevent attacks.
He will also lead the recently announced Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC), a first-of-its-kind hub for cyber-threat detection and incident response. Formed by Hochul in February, JSOC will be critical to cyber-threat information sharing, linking New York State, New York City, local and regional governments, critical-infrastructure stakeholders, and federal partners.
Ahern previously served as first deputy director of New York City Cyber Command and later as acting chief information security officer, where he led the transformation of a small cyber unit into a vast agency with more than 100 departments and offices in its purview.
At the height of the pandemic, Ahern created New York City’s first ever cloud-based, zero trust security environment — described as a “massive undertaking” enabling Cyber Command to pivot to remote work while “still effectively defending” against cyber threats, per Hochul’s office.
Before beginning work in city government, he worked in financial services as a security engineer and cyber-threat researcher.
Ahern started his career as a U.S. Army officer after enlisting in the Army Reserves following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and eventually serving two, year-long tours in Afghanistan. He was promoted to several leadership roles and concluded his Army career as a company commander at the U.S. Army Cyber Brigade. While there, he oversaw the creation of a specialized cyberspace-operations organization.
His military decorations include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Unit Commendation with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 campaign stars, and the Knowlton Award.
Ahern currently serves as an adjunct associate professor at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a guest lecturer at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
