Ritter is no stranger to the position, having served as interim CISO since October. Prior to that appointment, Ritter worked as Pennsylvania's deputy CISO dating back to January 2024. All told, Ritter has spent nearly nine years with the state, according to his LinkedIn.
Making Ritter the state's permanent CISO comes amid an ongoing push to strengthen cybersecurity. In January, Gov. Josh Shapiro's office announced $10 million in new cyber funding, noting that it builds on other investments made in the past two years to "keep pace with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, including malicious attacks driven by artificial intelligence."
In addition to making Ritter the permanent CISO, the state also made Jim Sipe its permanent executive deputy CIO after he held that position on an interim basis. Sipe is a veteran of Pennsylvania cybersecurity himself, having served as CISO from November 2023 until October. In fact, it was his moving from the CISO role to executive deputy CIO that opened the position for Ritter.
Sarah Kinter was also made the permanent chief of staff to the CIO, and Sara Hall was made the executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA), the office charged with providing residents with digital alternatives to paper. CODE PA has also helped implement modern permitting along with a refund portal, design the pa.gov website, and modernize IT procurement.
This chain of leadership moves began in October with the dual departures of CIO Amaya Capellán and CTO R. Brian Andrews. At that time, Bryanna Pardoe was named CIO, after having lead CODE PA dating back to May 2023.
In a message to staff this week announcing the promotions from acting to permanent, Pennsylvania's secretary of the Office of Administration, Neil R. Weaver, described the new appointees as “highly capable leaders and experts in their previous positions.”
