AEC calls for new CIO

The Australian Electoral Commission has put out a call for a chief information officer to take charge of its IT environment and information security operations.

The CIO will be responsible for delivering “robust IT capabilities that allow the agency to deliver high-integrity elections”, according to the job ad.

David Lang has been running the agency’s IT shop in an acting capacity since March this year, when former CIO Lynn White moved to the Immigration department.

The new executive will look after the agency’s homegrown software applications for roll management as well as other bespoke software solutions that support the agency’s elections, funding, and disclosure business functions.

They will also serve as chief information security officer. A package of up to $242,519 is being offered by the agency.

The agency is about to conduct a review of the resilience of its core electoral systems - many of which were first introduced in the early 1990s - to identify any vulnerabilities that could compromise the next federal election.

The review comes amidst concern about the security of electoral systems following speculation that Russian hackers influenced the outcome of last year’s US election.

The AEC recently told budget estimates it was compliant with the federal government's Protective Security Policy Framework mandatory security controls.