Top DHS official stepping down

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a top government advocate for public and private cooperation in cybersecurity, is stepping down.

Mayorkas will leave office at the end of October to join the law firm WilmerHale. 

{mosads}“Ali has been my partner at the helm of this department for the last 34 months. From the beginning, Ali has been a source of encouragement, strength, and optimism,” said DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. 

“Routinely, Ali’s positive attitude has helped pick me up and given me the strength to carry on. In the face of the extraordinarily difficult issues we face, Ali has been our happy warrior.”

Mayorkas has been a fixture of the cybersecurity community during his time at the DHS. He was an advocate for threat information sharing and recently represented the DHS in forming a cybersecurity agreement with Israel. 

Under Secretary for Management Russ Deyo will take over as acting deputy secretary.