Colorado’s interim security chief made permanent

Colorado announced on Thursday that Jill Fraser, the state’s interim chief information security officer, has been tapped to move into the role permanently.

Fraser was appointed as to be the interim state cyber lead in September 2023 following the departure of Ray Yepes, who had served in the CISO role since 2022. She joins the Governor’s Office of Information Technology’s new chief information officer, David Edinger, who joined the state at the end of last year. Prior to serving as interim CISO, Fraser served as the state’s senior director of security operations at OIT, beginning in January 2023.

Before joining the OIT, she served as the CISO of Jefferson County, Colorado, which contains parts of Denver, for nearly 11 years. There she developed a unified security program within an otherwise decentralized IT structure, according to a news release. She also helped to raise awareness of cyber needs at the local level and “was instrumental” in creating Colorado’s “whole-of-state” cyber program in 2018.

“I am thrilled to have Jill on the team. As we continue to see the ingenuity of those who strive to cause harm by stealing people’s data, her expertise is just what is needed to protect state systems further,” Edinger said in the news release. “Additionally, Jill is a fair, transparent and inclusive leader who builds on the strengths of those around her.”

“Just as car technology requires changing oil, replacing tires, etc. to ensure the life, health and safety of the vehicle, electronic technology also requires maintenance to protect state systems and data,” Fraser said in the release. “Security is a part of everyone’s job, and cross-agency collaboration on our collective problems will ensure we move forward together and become a stronger, more secure Colorado.”