California’s top cybersecurity watchdog has announced his departure from state government. State CISO Vitaliy Panych announced Friday morning that he will be stepping away from the position he’s held for nearly eight years to join a yet-undisclosed “global tech solutions provider.”
Panych took the CISO reins in February 2019, after serving as deputy CISO for three months. Before that, he served in cybersecurity leadership roles with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Employment Development Department, and the Franchise Tax Board.
“Being CISO of California is an honor and a privilege, even with the punishing challenges that come with it,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “We prevailed through them as one cyber community, with incredible support from our administration.”
Panych noted in his announcement that the decision to step away from the California Department of Technology and nearly two decades in public service was not an easy decision to make.
Under his leadership, CDT implemented the Cal-Secure road map and hardened the cybersecurity foundations of state government, and survived myriad technical and natural crises, not the least of which was the state’s sudden shift to remote work during the pandemic.
“I always wanted to make everyone a risk-minded security practitioner. I think we did just that,” he wrote. “I am not leaving the fight; I am widening the front.”
While the name of the firm Panych will be joining has not yet been released, an announcement is expected at some point next week.
This story first appeared in Industry Insider — California, part of e.Republic, Government Technology’s parent company.
