Katie Arrington departs DOD to rejoin private sector

Katie Arrington, one of the original CMMC advocates, has gone back to the private sector and will join IonQ as its chief information officer. Her first day is Monday.

Arrington was part of the first Trump administration and launched the efforts to develop and implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification standard.

CMMC was revamped during the Biden administration, then Arrington returned to the Defense Department when Trump began his second term last year.

As acting DOD CIO, Arrington again was a vocal proponent for CMMC as it became a final rule in the fall. In her public appearances, Arrington voiced little sympathy for companies that complained about not being ready for CMMC.

“If you go on LinkedIn one more time and tell me how hard CMMC is, I’m going to beat you,” she said at an AFCEA DC luncheon in April.

Arrington will now oversee the protection and modernization of IonQ's enterprise systems, safeguard digital assets and supply chains, and operational and cyber resilience.