President Obama has named Howard A. Schmidt, who was a cyber-adviser in President George W. Bush's White House, as the new cybersecurity coordinator.
Schmidt will coordinate cybersecurity policy across the federal government, from the military to civilian agencies. He does not require Senate confirmation, and he will report to deputy national security adviser John O. Brennan. Schmidt's résumé reflects experience in the private sector, law enforcement and government. Schmidt served as special adviser for cyberspace security from 2001 to 2003 and shepherded the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace.
Before he joined the Bush White House, he worked as chief security officer at Microsoft. He then became vice president and chief information security officer at eBay. He is now president of the Information Security Forum, a nonprofit consortium of corporations and public-sector organizations working to resolve cybercrime and cybersecurity issues.
Patricia Titus, former CISO for TSA and now CISO for Unisys Federal Systems," told Security, "Howard is well known and brings leadership and diverse background that highlights the commitment from the White House that Cybersecurity remains a national priority. This appointment will be instrumental in allowing the government to lay out a clear strategic direction for our national cybersecurity and address the public concerns related to privacy and identity theft and fraud."
