NASA Names New Information Security Chief

January 16, 2011

NASA has appointed Valarie Burks as its deputy CIO for Information Technology Security.

She replaces Jerry Davis, who left NASA last July to take over as the security chief at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Burks was previously the associate CIO for cyber and privacy policy and oversight at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was responsible for managing the department's governance, risk, crisis management and compliance functions. Burks is credited with developing and implementing a center of excellence for information security at the USDA.

She also previously handled IT management functions at the White House Office of Management and Budget, Department of Commerce and the Government Accountability Office.

Ransomware and the propulsion of the extortion economy has rapidly eclipsed into a national priority. Recently, we observed the catastrophic impact of a widescale ransomware attack impacting gas pipelines and raising national gas prices overnight.