Longtime Cyber Leader Novak Announces Retirement

Another California cybersecurity leader has publicly shared his plans to depart state service. Doug Novak, the acting state chief information security officer, has announced that he will retire at the end of the month.

“After 30 years of serving the state of California in information technology and cybersecurity, the time has come for me to retire,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Writing those words brings more emotion than I expected. For three decades, this career has been a significant part of my life, and I’m incredibly grateful for the journey.”

Novak most recently served as the acting state CISO following the departure of Vitaliy Panych, who joined World Wide Technology in August.

Novak’s state government career began more than 30 years ago as a network administrator for the California Highway Patrol. He would later hold the same position with the Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and some years after that would become acting commander of the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC).

“Having the opportunity to help protect the state I’ve served for so many years, while working with dedicated cybersecurity professionals across California, has been an incredible way to close out my state career,” he wrote.

Novak joined the California Department of Technology (CDT) in 2021 as a security solutions administration manager before being promoted to security operations center manager in 2023. He took over as deputy CISO in July 2025.

“Thirty years went by faster than I ever imagined. Thank you, state of California. It has truly been an honor to serve,” Novak closed.

Last week, we reported that CDT was recruiting for his position, but we were unable to confirm departure details at that time. That posting closes Sept. 25.