Patrick Gorman has been named to the newly created position of chief information security officer at Bank of America, the firm announced today -- perhaps in a nod to the increasing need for tighter information security in financial services, and to some specific security gaffes at the company.
Gorman will be responsible for the bank's information security strategy and policy. He will be based in Washington, D.C., and report to chief technology officer Marc Gordon.
"By bringing Patrick on board, we're combining his experience and knowledge with an already very strong team of information security professionals," Gordon said in a statement. "The result will be a combined capability and experience set that continues to position us well against current and future risks and opportunities."
Bank of America recently faced some embarrassment when hacker group Anonymous released email correspondence between employees of Balboa Insurance, a former unit of the bank.
Before that, WikiLeaks, an organization dedicated to releasing sensitive information to the public, threatened to "take down a major bank." In response, a team of 15 to 20 BofA officials conducted an internal investigation to see whether its systems had been broken into. The bank also retained Booz Allen Hamilton, the Virginia-based consulting group and Gorman's previous firm, to help with the review.
Gorman served as senior executive advisor for cyber-security and advanced analytics at Booz Allen Hamilton. He had spent ten years at the firm between 1996 and 2006 as a principal.
He has also worked as chief information officer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the U.S. government and spent ten years in the air force between 1984 and 1994. He graduated from the University of Maryland College Park in 1990 and received a master's from George Washington University in 1993.
BofA Spokesperson Laura Hunter declined to comment on whether the information security team will be adding more hires in the near future.
Write to Julie Steinberg