Following an extensive search by a broadly representative search committee, we are very pleased to announce that Isaac Straley will be joining Information Technology Services as the University‘s first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Isaac is set to join us on December 3, 2018.

Isaac is a recognized thought leader in information security and privacy. Known for his collaborative approach, Isaac currently serves in dual roles at the University of California, Irvine (UCI): as CISO: Risk and Compliance, and as Campus Privacy Officer (CPO). During his 13 years at UCI he has held progressively senior roles, providing both strategic and tactical security leadership. As CISO, he has overseen the creation and expansion of a robust cyber security program with an emphasis on raising awareness, usability, and self-service tools. As CPO, he has championed the protection of academic freedom and individual rights through collaboration, transparency, and accountability.

Isaac has managed such transformative changes as the creation of university governance groups for security and privacy; the implementation of a distributed threat detection system; the establishment of a security awareness program; the creation of a strong network perimeter while maintaining an open academic networking approach; and the completion of a “green field” rewrite of security policy for the entire University of California system. He was also the chair of the University of California’s CISO Group.

In 2009, Isaac was part of a UCI team that received the prestigious Award for Excellence in Criminal Investigations from the International Association of Chiefs of Police for the successful investigation and prosecution of an identity theft ring that perpetrated fraud on UCI graduate students. He is an alum of UC Irvine where he also taught a course in the Philosophy of Privacy and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). A strong advocate of learning and scholarship, Isaac believes the strength of the University is its diversity and its ability to collaboratively solve problems. Apparently he’s also a hockey fan and player…likely more opportunity to stretch those muscles here than in California!

We would like to thank the search committee for its time and invaluable input. Please join us in welcoming Isaac to the University of Toronto.