Steven Hernandez named new CISO at USAID

Steven Hernandez has joined the U.S. Agency for International Development as the chief information security officer and deputy chief information officer, according to a post on LinkedIn.
Hernandez was previously the Department of Education’s CISO and also worked in information security at the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General. Since October 2018, Hernandez has served as co-chair of the Federal Chief Information Security Officer Council, which facilitates cross-agency conversations between those in that position.
In joining USAID, he will reunite with CIO Jason Gray, who was previously CIO of the Department of Education between 2016 and 2022 during much of Hernandez’s tenure. Hernandez replaces Mark Johnson, who had served as USAID CISO for nearly nine years.
The new position for Hernandez comes as the federal government sees a major change in leadership later next week, with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
It’s not yet clear who will take the helm of USAID following Samantha Power’s exit. Mark Green, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin, led the agency during most of Trump’s first term.