DES MOINES, IOWA (July 15, 2021) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate presented a National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award to his Chief Cyber Officer Jeff Franklin, in recognition of Franklin’s service to state government and efforts to enhance Iowa’s election security. Franklin served as the State of Iowa’s Chief Information Security Officer for 10 years prior to joining the Secretary of State’s Office in February 2020.
During Franklin’s tenure with the Secretary of State’s Office, he assisted counties with transitioning their websites to the more secure dot-gov domain, helped launch partnerships with private sector security researchers, and played a large role in bolstering Iowa’s election cyber maturity.
“Jeff has provided excellent advice and direction gained from many years of experience in leading roles for the State of Iowa’s cybersecurity,” Sec Pate said. “He brought a methodical approach to our election cybersecurity and created a framework from which we can build into the future. I’m very appreciative of all his efforts.”
Franklin worked extensively with the Secretary of State’s Office during his time at the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). That partnership resulted in the implementation of election cybersecurity tools in all 99 Iowa counties, including training, monitoring, intrusion detection and malware prevention.
That initiative earned Sec Pate’s office the IDEAS Award from the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in 2019 for its “Roadmap to Election Cybersecurity” initiative. The effort was also recognized by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
“Sec\ Pate and his office continue to lead the nation with effective and innovative cybersecurity solutions which protect our elections and election infrastructure,” Franklin said. “It’s been my distinct honor to be a part of this team and I’m very grateful to receive this award.”
Jeff Franklin is stepping down from his role in the Secretary of State’s Office on Friday to take a job in the private sector with a local small business.
