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Dr. Charles Kiriakou has been appointed as the city of Suffolk’s director of information technology.

City Manager Albert Moor made the appointment effective Wednesday, June 22.

Kiriakou has worked in the IT profession for 35 years, with 20 years of experience in information security/cybersecurity. He started his IT career as a programmer and data processing manager for a small food distribution company. He transitioned to the Federal Civil Service, where he worked 30 years at several Navy commands.

For the Navy, he held the positions of LAN manager, network administrator, webmaster, information assurance program manager, deputy director and director of Operational Designated Approving Authority (ODAA), director of Operation Cyber Asset Reduction and Security (CARS), deputy director of Navy Authorizing Official (NAO), and director of Navy Authorizing Official at U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/US TENTH Fleet.

Kiriakou received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Business Administration (with IT concentration) from Old Dominion University and a doctorate in Information Technology with specialization in Information Security from Capella University. He is also a certified information security manager (CISM). He has taught graduate-level IT and Cybersecurity courses at Purdue University Global, Kaplan University and Northcentral University.