Iowa CISO Jeff Franklin departs after more than decade
Jeff Franklin, Iowa’s statewide chief information security officer of nearly 11 years, left the state government this month, officials said. Annette Dunn, the state’s chief information officer, confirmed Franklin’s departure to StateScoop in an email Wednesday, but did not say anything about the nature of his leaving.
Former Iowa CISO Jeff Franklin (LinkedIn)
Franklin was appointed the state’s top cybersecurity official in May 2009, following more than two years as an information security specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
During his time as CISO, Franklin’s accomplishments included the development of a statewide cybersecurity strategy, expanding the IT agency’s catalog of security products it offers to the state’s public sector and creating election-protection programs in concert with the office of Secretary of State Paul Pate.
Pate has credited Franklin with helping to enroll all 99 of Iowa’s county auditor offices — which run elections — in the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s cybersecurity training programs. That effort has been recognized by both the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Franklin also served for eight months last year as Iowa’s interim CIO, following the resignation of Dunn’s predecessor, Robert Von Wolffradt. In her email to StateScoop, Dunn, who was appointed to the state’s top IT job last July, said she hopes to hire a new CISO soon, but that in the mean time she does not plan to name an acting CISO.
