The quiet period for the Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity division turnover seems to be over.

Brendan Goode, the director of the Network Security Deployment division in the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C), joins an ever growing list of executives leaving for the private sector.

In an email obtained by Federal News Radio, Andy Ozment, Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications, announced Goode’s decision to move to industry, and the promotion of Danny Toler to take over for Goode.

“Brendan has led NSD, building the National Cybersecurity Protection System (otherwise known as EINSTEIN) from a nascent concept to an operational program that actively protects federal agencies from cybersecurity threats,” Ozment wrote to staff. “Under Brendan’s leadership and vision, NSD has deployed EINSTEIN 1 and 2 across the federal government and pioneered an innovative model for blocking intrusions at our Internet Service Providers. Brendan has served as an exemplary manager and leader, ably implementing shifts in program strategy and ensuring that one of our major acquisition programs remained on- cost in a constrained budget environment.”

Goode’s last day will be Nov. 21.

Toler moves up in the CS&C division after spending the last two years as the deputy director of Federal Network Resilience division.

As deputy director of FNR, Toler managed the procurement and execution of the continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program and the reporting and oversight efforts for the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

“I’m confident that these experiences will prove invaluable in leading NSD’s diverse procurement and engineering portfolio,” Ozment wrote. “Ron Austin, currently managing FNR’s Integrated Cyber Services branch, will serve as Acting Deputy Director of FNR until a permanent selection is made through open competition.”

Goode becomes another in what seems to be an ever-growing list of DHS cyber experts to jump to the private sector. Before Goode, the latest being Larry Zelvin, who stepped down in August as the director of DHS’ National Cyber and Communications Integration Center (NCIC) after 30 years in government. But over the last few years, several high- ranking cyber executives have come and gone ranging from Mike Locatis to Matt Coose to Mike Smith to Phil Reitinger to Greg Schaffer.

Goode’s departure comes at a critical time for the Einstein program. Ozment said in a recent interview that Einstein 3 covers about 25 percent of the civilian government with nine agencies on board and several others in the works.

“Brendan also led NSD through the DHS Level 1 acquisition process, one of the first major programs to do so. Not only was navigating this process an achievement in itself, Brendan helped DHS develop a mature acquisition management and oversight approach that will serve as a lasting legacy across the department,” Ozment wrote. “On a personal note, Brendan has been a terrific colleague: calm, rational, and always ready to offer pragmatic advice to manage even the most fraught situations.

Ozment didn’t say in his email where Goode was heading to in the private sector.

Toler’s promotion comes two years after he joined DHS from the State Department, where he was director of the Information Resource Management’s Office of Enterprise Network Management.

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