New CISO named at VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs has named Dan Galik acting deputy assistant secretary and chief information security officer.
Galik, currently serving as VA’s associate deputy assistant secretary for security operations since March 2014, will replace Stan Lowe, who announced earlier this month that he will retire after 25 years of service Aug. 22.
Prior to joining the VA, Galik served as CISO at the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services, and has held other information assurance and security roles at agencies like the Defense Intelligence Systems Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Galik is a veteran of the Navy.
In his new role, Galik’s top priority will be ensuring the security of veterans’ information and the department’s systems, VA spokesman James Hutton told FedScoop in an email. “This will include enacting strong policies, processes, and procedures that protect the information and systems that affect every Veteran, their families and beneficiaries, and VA employees,” Hutton wrote. He will work with Lowe to transition into the role before his retirment.
Galik’s first day as acting CISO will be Aug. 31.
VA’s Office of Information and Technology has faced a great deal of leadership turnover in recent weeks. In addition to Lowe’s departure and replacement, former acting Chief Information Officer Stephen Warren, soon after LaVerne Council was confirmed as the official VA CIO, also announced he’d leave the department in late August for a CIO role at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
