Paul Cunningham

As the acting Associate Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity, Mr. Cunningham serves as the Department’s Chief Information Security Officer charged with managing the agency’s enterprise cybersecurity program. Mr. Cunningham advises the Department’s CIO and senior agency officials in the implementation of cybersecurity and the Department’s Risk Management Approach. Mr. Cunningham provides executive leadership and guidance for joint agency and Administration cybersecurity initiatives including for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity and Initiative, safeguarding of the Defense Industrial Base and critical infrastructure protection, and assistance to the Mission Executive Council in establishing cybersecurity Research and Development (R&D) priorities to improve the national cybersecurity posture.

Mr. Cunningham is the former Information Assurance Governance Branch Director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and served as the primary Information Assurance policy advisor to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In that role, he was responsible for providing liaison support for IA policy between ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Headquarters, clarifying policy interpretation, and developing implementation strategies to meet governing directives and mission requirements. Through the sound use of program management, process development and risk management strategies, he spearheaded initiatives to streamline IA support in system development, management, and implementation in the field. Some of his accomplishments included restructuring the Regional Information Assurance Manager program to improve support to Area Operations Managers, integrating system security activities within the established System Lifecycle Management (SLM) process, and improving field accessibility by establishing acceptable wireless policies and encryption standards.

Prior to working at ICE, Mr. Cunningham was the Threat Mitigation Division Manager/Director of IT Security for Camber Corporation. In this role, Mr. Cunningham oversaw contract execution of over 6 million dollars and was responsible for working with customers in identifying new opportunities and support requirements. He lead Camber Corporation’s Cyber program which integrates NIST defined elements into a customizable business framework to support specific customer needs. He was also responsible for two research and development projects; one involving the development of a testing tool based on NIST standards, and the other, a tool to examine file content for potentially sensitive data. Mr. Cunningham also worked as a Camber contractor at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Information Assurance division. He assisted in policy development, system accreditation, spill investigations, and IA training.

Before Camber, Mr. Cunningham spent over 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviator. He held numerous administrative and department head positions during his tenure to include IT Director for Navy Operational Support Center Jacksonville; Safety Officer and Mishap Investigator; and Chief Standardization Flight Instructor for Navy primary flight training.

Mr. Cunningham earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Southern Illinois University and a Masters Degree in Information Technology from Capella University. He also holds several certifications to include Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®) and Ethical Hacker.