The first CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre is to step down in the summer.
Ciaran Martin, 45, founded the organisation four years ago and said it had “been the privilege of a lifetime” to lead it.
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to set up the NCSC and lead its brilliant people,” he said.
“When we created the NCSC we set out to achieve something truly special, and I hope and believe we are leaving UK cyber security in much better shape.
“Challenges around securing technology are only going to get ever more complex so it’s right that after six and a half years that someone else takes this world-class organisation to the next level.”
Martin will become a visiting professor at King’s College London.
He joined the board of GCHQ as head of cyber security in December 2013 and was behind recommendations to create a dedicated cyber security centre in the UK.