DHS Appoints Hemant Baidwan as Chief Information Security Officer

The Department of Homeland Security has named Hemant Baidwan as chief information security officer. He will succeed Kenneth Bible, who retired from government service in April, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Nextgov/FCW. 

Already with more than eight years of DHS service, Baidwan was previously the agency’s deputy chief information security officer, tasked with strengthening cybersecurity and leading information security programs supporting national security systems, according to his LinkedIn profile. As deputy CISO, Baidwan led the Hack DHS Program aimed at pinpointing the agency’s cyber vulnerabilities, Nextgov/FCW reported Friday.

Baidwan’s roles as the agency’s new CISO includes implementing and managing the DHS Information Security Program and ensuring its compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Reporting directly to Eric Hysen, DHS chief information officer, Baidwan is also tasked with issuing department-wide information security policies and DHS IT systems’ architecture requirements.

With Baidwan’s appointment, Antonino Scimemi, former DHS cybersecurity assessments division head, takes over as acting deputy CISO. Scimemi was among the 40 awardees of  MeriTalk’s 2023 Cyber Defenders.