For his first public-sector role in his native Oklahoma, new state Chief Information Security Officer Daniel Langley’s focus is threefold: listening to security needs of agencies and employees, addressing vulnerabilities across systems and partners, and strengthening operational efficiency.
The newly returned Langley took the role in early October, and he oversees security policy, infrastructure and risk management while setting the direction for state cybersecurity. Alongside modernization, other goals include improvements to identity management and implementing secure, scalable systems. Ensuring security plays well with other aspects of technology and workforce, he said, is key.
“Security should never be a barrier to innovation or productivity,” Langley said via email, “and understanding the real-world challenges our customers and employees face helps ensure our security strategy supports their goals.”
He was most recently the acting deputy CISO for Washington Technology Solutions, while holding the permanent position of state network security architect. There, he said, he introduced zero-trust and security service edge capabilities that allow safe access to applications and data from anywhere. Before that, he was the Washington Lottery Commission’s CISO from 2019 to 2023.
Langley said the experiences provided him with “a well-rounded understanding of the unique challenges and priorities different agencies face, whether they be regulatory compliance and data integrity or service availability and customer trust.”
“Each agency operates within its own context,” he said, “but what became clear across the board is that no IT or cybersecurity challenge exists in isolation.”
In Oklahoma, the CISO office is in the Information Services Division, which is part of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Langley also has the Oklahoma Cyber Command, which gives the ability to respond to all cybersecurity threats against the state, and the Oklahoma Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which supports agencies and partners in preparing and responding to threats, under his watch.
“It is not a solo fight for any individual or agency,” he said, “it is a team collaboration that allows us all to support the state’s cybersecurity strategy.”
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