Ben Carden

MBA, CCISO

Chelmsford, Town of Chelmsford, MiddlesexMember since February 14, 2026

RMFJSIGICD 503Vulnerability Management

About

MBA-credentialed Security Executive (CCISO, CISSP, CISM, QTE) with 20+ years of enterprise cybersecurity leadership across defense, aerospace, and intelligence programs. Proven track record of protecting multi-million-dollar defense contract portfolios, modernizing enterprise risk architectures, and driving CMMC / NIST compliance to accelerate program execution. Trusted advisor to Board and executive leadership, adept at translating complex threat vectors and regulatory requirements into clear enterprise risk strategy and capital allocation decisions.

Experience

CYBERSECURITY ARCHITECT - ASTRION - CONCORD, MA

(2026-03)

Strategic Business Enablement: Architected enterprise security strategies for DoD defense acquisition programs, reducing architectural rework, streamlining engineering velocity, and safeguarding key contract milestones.
Risk Reduction & Financial Impact: Optimized control inheritance patterns across DoD systems, reducing residual cyber exposure, slashing ATO timelines by 30%, and ensuring continuous compliance across high-value program portfolios.
Operational Excellence & Cost Savings: Directed the design of secure cross-domain solutions (CDS & CSfC), enhancing interoperability and reducing system vulnerabilities to enable secure data-sharing while minimizing the cost of disparate security controls.
Executive Advisory & Influence: Served as principal security advisor to executive program leadership, framing technical vulnerabilities into quantifiable business risk scenarios to direct strategic capital investments.
Organizational Leadership: Forged alignment between senior government leaders, engineering executives, and mission partners, elevating the organization's cybersecurity maturity and enhancing workforce capability through targeted mentorship.

SENIOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY MANAGER (ISSM) - DRAPER - Cambridge, MA

(2025-01 - 2026-02)

Architected Enterprise Security Governance: Formulated and executed an enterprise cybersecurity roadmap across 18+ classified and unclassified programs, harmonizing NIST 800-53/171 frameworks with corporate growth goals and risk appetite.
Transformed Talent Performance: Spearheaded a 12-person cybersecurity organization, implementing data-driven KPIs, talent development frameworks, and succession plans that yielded a 35% gain in operational output.
Supply Chain & Regulatory Compliance: Led CMMC readiness and supply chain risk governance across prime and subcontractor networks, safeguarding CUI handling and eliminating systemic compliance liability.
Evangelized Security Consciousness: Directed a large-scale behavioral change initiative for 1,400+ stakeholders, achieving a 60% measurable improvement in security awareness and significantly reducing the human-centric attack surface.

CYBERSECURITY COMPLIANCE MANAGER / INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY MANAGER (ISSM) - DRAPER - Cambridge, MA

(2018-12 - 2025-01)

Governed Enterprise Compliance Architecture: Engineered a unified compliance architecture across multi-system environments enforcing NIST, RMF, JSIG, and ICD 503 standards, achieving 100% audit readiness and zero compliance-driven program delays.
Steered Strategic Policy & Risk Vision: Authored corporate security policies and 3-year security roadmaps, advising senior leadership on resource management, tooling consolidation, and long-term risk reduction.
Navigated Organizational Transformation: Championed a cross-functional team of 11 direct and indirect reports through a high-stakes corporate restructuring, maintaining operational continuity and fostering a culture of high-engagement collaboration.

COMPUTER SECURITY ANALYST - DRAPER - Cambridge, MA

(2016-08 - 2018-12)

Proactive Risk Reduction: Directed vulnerability management and threat risk assessments across 18 critical defense systems, quantifying risk posture to prioritize executive remediation funding.
Accelerated Program Authorization: Streamlined accreditation workflows and A&A strategy to accelerate Authorization to Operate (ATO) timelines, ensuring continuous contract adherence and uninterrupted program operations.
Cross-Functional Risk Governance: Partnered with engineering and program leadership to embed security into systems design lifecycles, mitigating critical vulnerabilities early and reducing costly late-stage architecture rework.

SENIOR SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR - BAE Systems - Boston, MA

(2013-12 - 2016-08)

Strategic Attack Surface Reduction: Hardened multi-network enterprise defenses across Active Directory and Windows environments by engineering advanced firewall controls, refining access management, and executing proactive patch governance.
Executive Risk Translation: Served as technical escalation lead during critical incidents, translating complex network and infrastructure threats into actionable business risk assessments for leadership.
Operational Infrastructure Resilience: Modernized system maintenance protocols across enterprise networks, reducing service downtime by 25% while safeguarding ongoing federal contract eligibility.

Electronic Technical Analyst - Engility Corporation

(2013-05 - 2013-12)

Nuclear Mechanic, DBA, Production Supervisor & Electronics Technician - United States Navy

(2007-04 - 2013-04)