OPM names new top tech official

Deputy federal chief information officer Lisa Schlosser will assume the interim chief information officer position at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), according to an internal email from interim director Beth Cobert.

{mosads}Schlosser will be a senior adviser as well as acting CIO, Cobert writes. She gave no details as to the expected length of the assignment.

She replaces Donna Seymour, who resigned in February after months of calls from some members of Congress for her firing.

The announcement comes as the OPM prepares to shift its responsibility for safeguarding federal background investigation information to a new government-wide office.

The topic received scrutiny after last year’s revelations of massive data breaches at the agency, which has long managed the background checks for security clearance reviews. The breach exposed the data of over 20 million former and current federal employees, contractors and others.

Security weaknesses in the agency’s networks may been what allowed the hackers to access the sensitive databases.

Years of watchdog reports accused the OPM computer systems of being mismanaged, outdated and lacking basic cybersecurity protections, such as encryption and two-factor authentication.

While some lawmakers — led by House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) — argued that Seymour ignored the inspector general’s warnings, others blasted Republicans for scapegoating Seymour in the wake of the breach.

“Efforts by Republicans to blame her for the cyberattack on OPM are both unfair and inaccurate, and they set a terrible precedent that will discourage qualified experts from taking on the challenges our nation faces in the future,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the Oversight Committee’s ranking member, said in a statement.

Schlosser comes to the OPM from a role as deputy administrator for the Office of E-Government and deputy federal chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget. She has a 29-year military career, serving as an Army officer on both active duty and the reserves.

“As we work to navigate the National Background Investigations Bureau transition, build on our cybersecurity effort, and find the permanent CIO, Lisa will be a major asset for OPM during her detail with our team,” Cobert wrote.