David Bakin
CISO, Peraton
As Peraton’s CISO, David Bakin helps lead the way on the company’s AI efforts. Working with the company’s CTO and CIO, he helped launch Peraton’s AI Enablement and Governance Board, which focuses on operationalizing how the enterprise securely builds, deploys and governs AI to generate positive customer impact.
This cross-sector initiative strengthened overall cohesion, made security a business enabler, and ensured the company’s AI efforts safely scale to meet mission objectives.
“By emphasizing compliance and adhering to regulations while leveraging cybersecurity modernization and integrating AI into operations, Peraton will reduce redundancy and optimize secure service delivery that remains efficient and effective for its customers,” he said.
Bakin also modernized Peraton’s security stack, advancing protection and detection capabilities. Additionally, his team launched initiatives that enhanced the company’s visibility, minimized its attack surface and bolstered threat detection capabilities, bringing improved operational efficiencies and strengthened protection against the latest emerging threats.
Why Watch
Throughout 2025 and into 2026, Bakin’s team is focused on expanding Peraton’s visibility even further, offering more services for the company’s enclaves and continuing to integrate AI into security workflows. Additionally, Bakin is standing up a cyber threat intelligence center of excellence across Peraton to increase collaboration and sharing of adversary tradecraft and defenders’ best practices. The team is becoming more integrated throughout the enterprise to turn security into a differentiator that supports innovation and advances business growth.
“During challenging or stressful times, it’s important to remind team members that ‘I just need you to be you,'” Bakin said. “We can’t let the pressure drive our actions. Through working together and executing our established processes, we will successfully navigate the most challenging of situations.”
Peraton CIO Tom Terjesen said Bakin’s leadership and strategic vision are invaluable.
“David pushed efficiency while simultaneously infusing innovation into our architecture, eliminating outdated tools and introducing some state-of-the-art new capabilities, which have enhanced our security posture and provided increased visibility into nefarious activities and threats,” Terjesen said.
Fun Fact: Before cybersecurity, Bakin raced in “24 Hours of Lemons,” endurance events with $500 cars that he calls hands-on lessons in risk and security. Speed demanded preparation, strategy, risk/reward decision-making and focus under pressure. Today, he has traded the track for online competitive sim racing.