Vitaliy Panych steps down as State Chief Information Security Officer of State of California

Vitaliy Panych is stepping down as California's state Chief Information Security Officer after seven years leading the state's cybersecurity efforts, one of the longer recent tenures in a public-sector CISO seat.

State CISO roles turn over faster than their private-sector equivalents — budget cycles, administration changes, and pay gaps against industry all pull incumbents out. A seven-year run in the largest state program in the country is the exception, and the vacancy it opens will be one of the most closely watched public-sector security searches of the year.

According to the State of California profile, Panych monitors security for more than 140 state departments and has brought most of them onto monitoring of their own internal networks. The profile says the state's digital information assets face more than 400 million malicious probes each day.

StateScoop reports that Panych helped advance Cal-Secure, a cybersecurity roadmap giving executive agencies a common framework built around identity management, continuous monitoring and zero-trust architecture.

According to the newsroom, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Panych State CISO in 2021 after he had served nearly 2 years in an acting capacity. The newsroom says Panych joined CDT as Deputy State CISO in 2018, after holding progressively senior roles at several state departments. StateScoop reports that his state government career began in 2003 and included cybersecurity leadership roles at the Franchise Tax Board and the Employment Development Department. The newsroom says Panych received the 2022 Thomas M. Jarrett State Cybersecurity Leadership Award from the National Association of Chief Information Officers. He was also recognized by the Scoop News Group with a 2023 CyberScoop 50 award for Government Leadership, the newsroom reports.

Panych wrote, "We now help uplift thousands of local and educational jurisdictions," which partner with the Cal-CSIC and with cyber defense and operations teams at CDT's Office of Information Security, StateScoop reports. Panych said he is joining an international technology company that builds digital infrastructure for government agencies and large enterprises, StateScoop reports.