Don Yeske, who has headed the National Security Cyber Division at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2023, said this week he is stepping down from that position – and Federal service – on July 11.
Yeske has led a range of security efforts during his time at DHS. He reports to the DHS chief information security officer, serves as the risk executive for all DHS National Security Systems, heads PKI management and cryptographic modernization of DHS networks, and leads zero trust security implementation for all DHS systems and networks.
In a social media post announcing his departure, Yeske said, “I won’t get into my reasons for leaving in this forum, other than to say that it was an exceptionally difficult decision, and that I am doing what I see as in keeping with my oath of office, best for my family, and in the best interest of my career.”
“If anyone had asked me six months ago, I’d have said that I intended for DHS to be the final stop in my career as a civil servant,” Yeske said, adding, “It turns out that I was right. I just didn’t count on being right so soon.”
Prior to his time at DHS, Yeske was chief solutions architect and chief technology officer at the Department of the Navy from 2021 to 2023. He was division head – expeditionary enterprise systems and services at the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic from 2020 to 2022, and before that was engineering operations advisor and head of future operations at U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters.
“I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished together – especially of our pioneering work in zero trust architecture – and I have every reason to believe that our work will continue long after my departure under the brilliant leadership of others,” Yeske said.
“I’ll share more about what comes next as that gets closer,” he said. “I will contribute to the mission in a different way. In time, I may have more to say about my time as a civil servant at DoD and DHS.”