The Office of Personnel Management has hired a new senior cybersecurity expert to address problems following the agency’s massive data breach.

Clifton Triplett will serve as the senior cyber and information technology adviser to acting OPM Director Beth Cobert, the agency announced Wednesday in a press release.

“To help build on the federal government’s efforts to strengthen our cybersecurity posture and provide assistance to individuals impacted by the recent cyber intrusions, we must recruit and retain a variety of highly motivated and qualified individuals from this constantly evolving field,” Cobert said. “Clif’s experience in building information technology infrastructure is top-rated, and I am excited to have him on board.”

In his new role, Triplett will help carry out OPM’s IT infrastructure plan, which calls for modernizing and overhauling its computer systems and minimizing the threat of future cyber intrusions. Triplett is expected to work alongside OPM Chief Information Office Donna Seymour to make these improvements to the IT architecture.

“I’m honored to join the dedicated team at OPM and I’m eager to immediately get to work with our interagency partners,” Triplett  said in the press release. “We all have a role to play in securing our systems and protecting our information, and I’m committed to supporting these critical efforts across the federal government.”

Former OPM Director Katherine Archuleta announced the agency’s decision to hire an adviser in June, as part of a 15-step cyber improvement plan to address vulnerabilities exposed by the data breach that exposed the personally identifiable information of millions.

Archuleta said the agency would hire its adviser by Aug. 1.

Prior to joining OPM, Triplett was the managing partner at SteelPointe Partners, a global management consulting company. He holds 30 years of cross-industry and IT organizational transformation experience with Fortune 200 companies and industry leaders in the defense, telecommunications, oil field service, tractor, automotive, and aerospace industries.

Read all of Federal News Radio’s coverage of the OPM Cyber Breach

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