Cyber Security Summit names Chris Luhman the Visionary Application Security Leader of the Year

Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) is pleased to announce that Information Security Director Chris Luhman received the Visionary Application Security Leader Award Oct. 28, 2024, at the Cyber Security Summit in Minneapolis.  

The award recognizes a security practitioner or team that demonstrates innovation and outstanding oversight of an application security program. 

“It feels nice to have the hard work recognized by others, and it is an honor to be selected for this award,” said Luhman, who leads the teams that secure and protect agency applications for several departments and has responsibility for statewide governance risk and compliance. 

Luhman, who has worked in information security for the past 18 years and information technology for almost 30 years, said he was drawn to cybersecurity as a way to protect and help people. “I enjoy helping agencies do business safely,” he said. 

“We are grateful for Chris’s expertise and leadership at MNIT,” said John Israel, Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Security Officer at MNIT. “He is known for leading teams to develop new approaches and seek innovative efficiencies, while making Minnesotans’ data safer.” 

Luhman holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and is a certified information systems security professional (CISSP). 

MNIT employees win first place in Cyber Sports professional category 

MNIT employees were among dozens of students and cyber professionals who competed in the Cyber Security Summit’s Cyber Sports event Oct. 28. One of the three groups of MNIT employees won first place in the professional category. 

The winning team included Blake Forcier, Tyler Christenson, Mohamed Mohamed, Tim McGuire, and Liam Powell.  

Participants competed in teams through Jeopardy- or Capture the Flag-style games. The challenges included coding tasks and the defense and attack of critical systems. The competition allowed the teams to apply their knowledge in real-time and enhance their team-building and critical-thinking skills. 

About the Cyber Security Summit and MNIT 

The Cyber Security Summit, held in Minnesota each year, brings together more than 1,000 industry, government, critical infrastructure, and academic leaders to improve the state of cybersecurity on a local, regional, national, and global level.  

MNIT presenters at the Cyber Security Summit included Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Security Officer John Israel, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Jen VanDemmeltraadt, Information Security Director Chris Luhman, Cyber Navigator Supervisor Pete Alsis, and Cyber Navigator-Critical Infrastructure Angela Hary.  

MNIT works to protect people’s personal information and keep state systems running. Visit our security page to learn more about how the state aims to keep data and systems secure. 

Angela Hary presents at the Cyber Security Summit 2024

John Israel speaks at the Cyber Security Summit 2024

Chris Luhman speaks at Cyber Security Summit 2024