On January 8, 2020, Acting Secretary Chad Wolf appointed Sam Kaplan to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, and Resilience Policy. In this role, he is responsible for leading DHS policy development in support of department-wide efforts to reduce national risks with a focus on critical infrastructure cybersecurity, federal network security, countering cyber-crime, and improving the security and resilience of the global cyber ecosystem, as well as national resilience initiatives that enhance federal, state and local government and community preparedness and response capabilities.
Prior to his current appointment, Sam served as the Department’s Deputy Chief of Staff where he was responsible for advising and supporting the Acting Deputy Secretary, and overseeing DHS front office operations and broader DHS initiatives. Sam additionally served as the Department’s Chief Privacy Officer where he was responsible for the operation and coordination of the Department’s program to protect individual privacy, to include ensuring compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and the E-Governance Act of 2002.
Before joining DHS, Sam served as the Senior Counsel for Field Operations at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), where he provided advice and counsel to the executive staff responsible for ATF’s criminal and regulatory operations. Prior to his tenure at ATF, Sam was Counselor to a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, where he was involved in the Board’s oversight and advisory work on counterterrorism programs conducted pursuant to Executive Order 12333, Presidential Policy Directive 28, and cybersecurity activities conducted under Executive Order 13636.
Since joining the Federal Government in 2007, Sam has held a number of additional positions within the U.S. Department of Justice and ATF, including Chief of ATF’s Audit Liaison Branch; Counsel to Emergency Support Function #13; and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he prosecuted gang, violent crime, and drug cases in the Major Crimes and Narcotics Unit.
Sam holds both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Arts in international studies/homeland security from the University of Denver, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/U.S. (CIPP/US).