Alvin "Tony" Plater

Mr. Plater was designated the DON CISO/Senior Information Security Officer (SISO) in February 2021. He reports directly to the DON Chief Information Officer (CIO) on the effectiveness of DON’s Cybersecurity Risk Management Program. In support of the DON Information Superiority Vision (ISV), he leads a team responsible for driving strategic initiatives to secure DON’s data, regardless of where it resides. These strategic initiatives include Zero Trust, Partner to Secure the Defense Industry Base (DIB), and implementation of a Cyber Ready approach to Risk Management. He is a champion for threat informed Cyber Risk Quantification and expansion of Threat Emulation Assessments.

Mr. Plater has military, government, and industry experience. He joined the government in November 2015 as a Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the DON CIO. Since then, he has held the position of Chief of Staff, Director for Cyber Security, and the DON CISO. Prior to his selection for government service, Mr. Plater accumulated 13 years of industry experience as a Senior Lead Technologist with a top Defense IT consulting firm. In this capacity, he rendered onsite cybersecurity policy and technical support to senior officials in various offices, including the DoD CIO Cloud Computing Office, Navy N2/N6, and the Navy Marine Corp Intranet (NMCI) Program Office.

Mr. Plater is a retired U.S. Army military IT professional who was formally recognized on numerous occasions for exemplary/meritorious service. During his military career, he completed leadership assignments with the Joint Staff J4, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade.

Mr. Plater is a graduate of the DON’s “Bridging the Gap” Leadership Course and the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) Executive Leadership Development Program. He holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Information Systems, Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Mr. Plater frequently speaks at media events on various topics, including Modernizing Cybersecurity, Compliance to Readiness, Zero Trust Networking, and Risk Management.