Governments like Nebraska are increasingly taking a whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity, boosting the defenses of local governments. The change comes as, with less federal support, states increasingly have been taking the lead on cyber operations.
Bailey stepped in as interim Jan. 27, the same day former CISO Abby Eccher-Young departed from the role, according to Noah Finlan, deputy director and chief operating officer within the Nebraska Office of the CIO (OCIO).
Bailey had served as deputy state CISO since June 2025 according to LinkedIn, and he brings cybersecurity experience from various public-sector positions. He held multiple positions at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and before that, he served as the security operations center manager with the city of Dallas. He also worked in cybersecurity for Mansfield Independent School District and Mount Pleasant Independent School District.
The state will publish a job posting within the coming days, Finlan said, which he expects will be open for about 30 days.
“Nebraska is built on trust, resilience, and people who quietly get the job done, and that’s exactly how I approach cybersecurity,” Bailey said in a LinkedIn post announcing his interim CISO status. He noted in the post that he will be focused on three key things in this role: strengthening cyber resilience, partnership across agencies and communities, and serving Nebraska “with integrity and consistency.”
The state launched its Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC) in 2024, which serves as a physical facility within OCIO, a team leading state cybersecurity work, and provides strategy. Eccher-Young said in September that the JSOC was still being shaped by state leadership, that it already acts as a resource for local governments, and, in the long term, it is intended to support greater cross-sector collaboration.
“Cybersecurity isn’t a short-term effort,” Bailey said in his LinkedIn post.
Separately, OCIO is seeking to hire a chief data officer (CDO). The job posting, released three days ago, indicates the CDO will be responsible for managing and securing enterprise data systems for accuracy and accessibility across state agencies. The person hired will be charged with supporting the growth of Power Business Intelligence and AI initiatives.
The state’s first CDO, Prabhakar Vijayarangam, said Sept. 22 in a LinkedIn post that he was seeking a new position. He had been CDO from August 2024 until September 2025, per his LinkedIn profile.
