When did Hemant Baidwan become CISO of Knox Systems?

The appointment was announced in the week of March 23, 2026, per SecurityWeek Industry Moves. The record holds the announcement, not a start date.

Where did Hemant Baidwan work before Knox Systems?

Before the appointment, Hemant Baidwan was CISO at DHS, according to the announcement (SecurityWeek Industry Moves).

Executive record

Hemant Baidwan

Hemant Baidwan is Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Knox Systems. The appointment was announced in the week of March 23, 2026, per SecurityWeek Industry Moves.

Before the appointment: CISO at DHS, per the same source.

2 tracked moves on the Wire · Updated November 10, 2026

Career timeline

Every move the record holds for Hemant Baidwan, newest first, with the earlier roles the announcements name.

week of March 23, 2026· Appointment
Named Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Knox Systems
Source: SecurityWeek Industry Moves (week of 2026-03-23) ↗ · Move record
Before March 2026· Earlier role
CISO at DHS
Named in the announcement of the Knox Systems appointment · Source: SecurityWeek Industry Moves (week of 2026-03-23) ↗
week of April 1, 2024· Appointment
Named Chief Information Security Officer at U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Source: SecurityWeek ↗ · Move record
Before April 2024· Earlier role
Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Named in the announcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security appointment · Source: SecurityWeek ↗

The moves, from the record

Joining Knox Systems

Announced week of March 23, 2026 · Source: SecurityWeek Industry Moves (week of 2026-03-23) ↗ · Move record

Hemant Baidwan has been appointed CISO at federal AI-managed cloud provider Knox Systems. He previously served as CISO at DHS, as a member of the FedRAMP Board, and as Vice Chair of the federal CISO Council.

According to the Knox Systems release, Baidwan holds the title of Executive Chief Information Security Officer at the company. The release says Baidwan will lead the cybersecurity program at Knox and strengthen security across its AI-driven cloud platform. The company says he will also advance approaches to secure federal cloud adoption and to automated compliance.

The release says that as CISO at DHS, Baidwan advanced cybersecurity strategy and modernized security across hundreds of systems and mission-critical networks. At DHS, the release says, Baidwan advanced the implementation of Zero Trust and launched the Hack DHS vulnerability disclosure program. He also developed the Unified Cybersecurity Maturity Model to improve visibility of enterprise risk, according to the release. According to the release, his DHS work included modernizing risk management with automation and a risk operations model, which enabled faster prioritization of cyber risk remediation. The release says Baidwan contributed to federal AI cybersecurity policy and to initiatives on cyber supply chain security.

Knox Systems says it holds Authorizations to Operate across 15 federal civilian and defense agencies, among them the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security. According to the release, Knox serves AI and SaaS providers including BigID, Armis, Adobe, Celonis and OutSystems.

Joining U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Announced week of April 1, 2024 · Source: SecurityWeek ↗ · Move record

The US Department of Homeland Security appointed Hemant Baidwan as its Chief Information Security Officer, week of April 1, 2024. Baidwan previously served as the department's Deputy CISO, where he led the Hack DHS bug bounty program. He succeeds Ken Bible, who retired from the role.

The company: Knox Systems

Sector: Government & Public Sector
Region: North America
Company record: Who runs security at Knox Systems: 1 confirmed move on the record
Vendor directory: Knox Systems sells security products, filed under Compliance automation. What it sells

In their own words

What Hemant Baidwan has posted and written in public while in the seat, each described in our words with a link to the original. A post loads from LinkedIn or X only when you choose Show post. All voices

Our take

The opening frames cybersecurity as a team sport, which puts the spotlight on how a security function works with the people around it rather than on the tools it runs. The visible text stops there, so we take only the framing and not the argument. For leaders in the seat, we agree the framing is useful and think the harder part is making it concrete. A team effort that stops at the security org chart is a slogan; one that gives engineering, legal, finance and HR a defined stake in outcomes is a programme. We would test it by asking who owns a risk decision when security is not in the room, and whether those people have the context and authority to make it well. We would also add that collaboration needs shared incentives, because teams only pull together when the cost of a miss is felt beyond the security budget.

Elsewhere

Public profiles we matched to Hemant Baidwan by exact name and the company on our record. Links only; we do not copy from them.

LinkedIn ↗

Appointed in the same period

Other security chiefs in Government & Public Sector whose appointment was announced within 90 days of Hemant Baidwan's, nearest first. The Government & Public Sector bench

March 30, 2026
Bertrum Carroll, Chief Information Security Officer at State of Nevada
week of April 6, 2026
Pamela McLeod, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at State of New Hampshire
March 2026
Andy Ritter, Chief Information Security Officer at Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
March 2026
James 'Aaron' Bishop, Deputy Chief Information Officer (Cybersecurity) and Chief Information Security Officer at US Department of Defense
May 2026
Alex Burinskiy, Chief Information Security Officer at Accela
June 2026
Chad Holmes, Chief Information Security Officer at Texas Office of the Attorney General

Record facts

Time in the seat: About 7 months since the appointment was announced (week of March 23, 2026), as of November 2026
Moves on the record: 2 confirmed moves, each with its source
On the record since: September 24, 2026
Government & Public Sector in 2026: 14 security-leadership appointments announced in the sector on the record

How these are counted. Time in the seat: Counted in whole months from the announcement of the appointment, the date the record holds; announcements rarely give a start date.

Questions about Hemant Baidwan

Who is the CISO of Knox Systems?: Hemant Baidwan is Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Knox Systems. The appointment was announced in the week of March 23, 2026, per SecurityWeek Industry Moves.
When did Hemant Baidwan become CISO of Knox Systems?: The appointment was announced in the week of March 23, 2026, per SecurityWeek Industry Moves. The record holds the announcement, not a start date.
Where did Hemant Baidwan work before Knox Systems?: Before the appointment, Hemant Baidwan was CISO at DHS, according to the announcement (SecurityWeek Industry Moves).

Sources

1.SecurityWeek Industry Moves (week of 2026-03-23) ↗: the appointment at Knox Systems, week of March 23, 2026
2.SecurityWeek ↗: the appointment at U.S. Department of Homeland Security, week of April 1, 2024

This record begins with CISO Tribune's tracking in 2026.

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