Ralph Johnson was named WaTech's new state Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) on Dec. 1, 2022.

Ralph replaced Vinod Brahmapuram, who resigned in March for a private-sector job. State CIO and WaTech Director Bill Kehoe, who has served as acting CISO during the interim, appointed Ralph to the position.

Ralph currently leads the information security program for NantMedia Holdings LLC, which owns publications including the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune. While there he was responsible for coordinating information security and providing executive leadership for security programs designed to protect company information technology systems and data.

Prior to joining NantMedia, he served as CISO for Los Angeles County from 2018 to 2021. Ralph has Washington state roots, working as the Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer for King County from 2005 to 2018. He's also an instructor for the University of Washington's Information Security and Risk Management Continuum Program.

"I'm excited to name Ralph as the state CISO," Bill Kehoe said. "I've worked with Ralph for many years and believe his skills, experience, and information security knowledge will continue to improve our enterprise security program and safeguard the state's data.