NHLN Opinion+: Denis Goulet

Bryan Zapata

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Welcome to another episode of New Hampshire Latino News Opinion+, where we talk about major issues the Latinx and underrepresented communities face in the New Hampshire community.

This week we spoke with Denis Goulet, Commissioner and CIO of the New Hampshire Department of Information Technology.

Goulet explained the impact of the pandemic and how, like many companies, were challenged to provide virtual IT services. “Most efficient option was to have a quality online option for citizens,” explained Goulet. There were online and phone call experiences to meet the needs of everyone. 

From a cybersecurity perspective, Covid motivated some individuals to engage in criminal activity. Ransomware and business email compromise activity are very common and come from foreign groups. The criminal’s goal is to attack the most impactful system possible. “ Our enemies keep adapting and we have to continue to adapt almost continuously,” explained Goulet. 

New Hampshire Department of Information Technology tries to seek funding to support the cyberposter of all entities. A cyber attack impacts underserved communities in New Hampshire and is reliant on IT management to get it operational again. “Continuity of government in that space is a real big deal particularly for underserved communities,” explained Goulet. “There’s no I in cyber,” explained Goulet when sharing his philosophy on community engagement. Investing funds into local communities is what leads to educational programs. 

New Hampshire Department of Information Technology is a citizens service organization and relies on citizen feedback. Watching out for the creation of urgency determines if someone becomes a victim. 

Resources: 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deniscgoulet

Main website: https://www.doit.nh.gov/