Connecticut’s New CISO Gene Meltser Aims to Reduce Risk

As the state’s recently arrived chief information security officer, Gene Meltser plans to use his three decades of private-sector expertise to steer Connecticut cybersecurity away from risk.


Meltser first started in the role on Aug. 23, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Director of Communications Leigh Appleby said in an email. The former state CISO, Jeff Brown, stepped down in the spring, at which time Appleby said Deputy CISO Justin Hickey filled in as interim.

Meltser announced his new role in an Aug. 27 LinkedIn post: “I will be responsible for building on the foundation established by my predecessor Jeffrey W. Brown and leading the efforts to reduce risks for our state government, our agencies, constituents and employees.”

DAS spotlighted his appointment in September in an interview, which it shared recently on X. In it, Meltser noted how his 30 years of experience in the private sector — at NCC Group, Rapid7, Sophos and elsewhere, according to his LinkedIn profile — prepared him to make a difference in the public sector. Connecticut, Meltser said, is where his potential to have an impact closely intersects with the public need for security.

He outlined his priorities for the role: bringing awareness to and addressing cyber issues, bolstering the state’s cyber team, and providing secure services to constituents.

“My primary responsibility is reducing cybersecurity risk for the [state of Connecticut], DAS, our agencies, and the clients we support, and bringing a credible voice to current and imminent cyber issues,” he said in the interview.

Brown, the state’s former CISO, started a new position as customer security officer for Microsoft in April, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“There is nothing more rewarding than making an impact in state service and there's nowhere better to do that than in the state of Connecticut,” Brown wrote in a May LinkedIn post highlighting the CISO job posting.

Brown served the state for about four years, improving security through various tactics. As he toldGovernment Technology this spring, the state has implemented new security controls to help detect and respond more quickly to potential security threats.

Emerging technologies like AI actually can play a role in “democratizing attacker knowledge that would have otherwise only been accessible to highly skilled attackers,” Brown said. However, he noted the state is leveraging AI to defend from attackers, as well. He also emphasized the importance of increased collaboration between the public sector and private sector, where he now works.