New York state is working to beef up its efforts to guard against and respond to cyber attacks with the appointment of a top official to oversee the effort, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced. 

Hochul has appointed Colin Ahern, a former first deputy director of the New York City cyber command, to become the state's first chief cyber officer. 

The appointment was announced as governments around the globe work to shore up their efforts to guard against potential cyber-attacks that have the potential of disrupting operations. Hochul previously announced this year a push to boost cyber security efforts in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"New York State is taking an aggressive, nation-leading approach to transforming our cybersecurity infrastructure to combat emerging threats and fortify our information assets," Hochul said. "I am thrilled to appoint Colin Ahern as New York state's first-ever Chief Cyber Officer. In an era of increasingly advanced cyber threats, Colin's proven expertise and experience in the military, the private sector, and government will be critical to identifying cyber risks, enhancing our defense systems, preventing attacks, and ensuring that New Yorkers and our institutions remain protected." 

Ahern will be in charge of multi-agency efforts to guard against cyber threats and protect the state's data and infrastructure from attacks. 

Ahern's previous work includes helping create New York City's first cloud-based security environment that helped the cyber command move to remote work will still monitoring potential threats.