Interior Taps New Acting Deputy CIO

Department of the Interior tapped Lou Eichenbaum as acting deputy chief information officer earlier this month, according to Eichenbaum’s LinkedIn post. He previously served as the zero trust program manager at the department from Feb. 2022 to March 2025.

As zero trust program manager, Eichenbaum helped the department develop its zero trust strategy in alignment with former President Joe Biden’s executive order on cybersecurity, he explained during a GovFocus panel with GovCIO Media & Research in Dec. 2024.

“It’s not just a technology problem, this is a people and process problem,” Eichenbaum said during the panel. “We learned very early that we need to make sure everyone is fully aware and understands what zero trust is, how it impacts the role they play in the organization and for IT professionals, we need them to embrace these principles so that they’re incorporating them into their daily practices.”

Eichenbaum helped build internal and federal-wide zero trust communities of practice to share ideas and collaborate across government. Additionally, he led the initiative to train employees within the department on zero trust principles, training over 100 employees in fiscal year 2024 with plans to train 200 more.

Eichenbaum has been at the agency since 2016, where he has held roles including the deputy chief information officer and chief of the program development branch.

Prior to joining the department, he held positions in the Bureau of Land Management and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.