Agency of Digital Services outlines modernization, cybersecurity and AI priorities to Senate committee

Secretary Denise Riley Hughes, the state’s chief information officer and head of the Vermont Agency of Digital Services, told the Senate Committee on Institutions on Wednesday the 22nd that the agency is focused on consolidating state technology, improving user experience and strengthening cybersecurity as it advances several major modernization projects.

Hughes said the agency, formed in 2017, now has six divisions and 389 positions and is working across the executive branch and elected offices to centralize standards, reduce duplication and make technology costs more predictable. “For the record, Denise Riley Hughes. I am secretary for the agency of digital services,” she said.

The agency’s work matters to Vermonters because it underpins everyday government functions — from driver services to unemployment benefits and payroll systems — and because gaps in cybersecurity and accessibility can affect both municipal services and residents’ access to state services.

Hughes told senators the agency’s top focus areas are user experience, standards, simplification and predictability. She said EDS is moving legacy services to cloud-based operating-expense models, aiming to replace fragmented CapEx…