OCTO outlines cybersecurity, AI, and broadband plans in D.C. Council oversight hearing

Stephen Miller, chief technology officer and director of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), testified Feb. 19 before the Council’s Committee on Public Works and Operations, chaired by Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, on OCTO’s fiscal-year work across cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital equity and resident-facing portals.

Miller told the committee the office has “developed a 3 year cybersecurity strategic plan and a risk management framework to address technology risk within the DC government,” and that OCTO is training city employees in phishing and other protections as part of ongoing cybersecurity work.

The hearing matters because OCTO’s work affects resident privacy, the availability and security of essential online services, and how federal broadband funds will be directed in the District. Committee members pressed OCTO on data classification, the FOIA portal rollout, school Wi‑Fi, broadband grants and the city’s approach to AI governance.

Cybersecurity and risk management

Miller said the three-year cybersecurity strategic plan and a risk management framework are in place and that OCTO plans a districtwide risk registry by late summer to help prioritize investments. He said implementation of projects funded by the federal State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program is pending release of grant funds and that OCTO is coordinating with the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) and federal partners for that rollout.

On staffing, Miller told the committee OCTO recently reduced vacancies after hiring events. He said the office had about 20 vacancies before a hiring fair, has scheduled to fill roughly 15 positions, made eight contingent offers at a recent event and expects to be under a 5% vacancy rate soon.

Data classification, open data and FOIA

Miller described an annual enterprise data inventory process that asks agencies to classify datasets on a scale he described with “five different…