Allen, who stepped down earlier this month, served in the CISO role within the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) for just more than three-and-a-half years, taking over from Stanton Gatewood in April 2019. Allen came to GTA from the Georgia Army National Guard.
Allen’s time at GTA was marked with navigating the outbreak of COVID-19. In the early days of the pandemic, he told Government Technology that he was navigating increased phishing attacks and network scanning activity. He also helped with GTA’s role in the implementation and administration of the Georgia Cyber Center, a state-owned facility which seeks to promote modernization in cybersecurity technology by offering education, training and research.
His replacement, Mike Davis, returns to the office after spending about three years with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, where he was the agency’s CIO. Davis returned to GTA in July of this year as the state’s deputy CISO, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Davis now takes on the interim CISO role, a transition that was confirmed by Georgia Technology Authority representative Paula Calhoun. The timeline for finding a permanent replacement has not been announced.
Davis has spent more than two decades serving in various IT positions at Georgia state agencies including the Georgia Public Service Commission, Department of Driver Services and Department of Public Safety according to his staff bio on the GTA website.
