Nearly a year after taking office, US President Barack Obama named Howard Schmidt, a former Bush administration adviser and Microsoft executive, as his cybsersecurity co-ordinator on Tuesday. "Howard will have the important responsibility of orchestrating the many important cybersecurity activities across the government," said John Brennan, Obama's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Obama's appointment of a White House "cyber czar" came 11 months after he was sworn in as president and seven months after he vowed to defend the United States against mounting espionage and hacker attacks to US government and private computer networks. No single US agency is currently charged with ensuring government cybersecurity efforts and lawmakers had been calling for the creation of a powerful cybersecurity adviser reporting directly to the president.
Cybersecurity was subject to fierce turf battles under the previous administration between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the super-secret electronic surveillance National Security Agency (NSA). Brennan said Schmidt "will have regular access to the president and serve as a key member of his National Security Staff.
"He will also work closely with his economic team to ensure that our cybersecurity efforts keep the nation secure and prosperous," he added in a statement. Schmidt, a cyber adviser to former president George W. Bush, currently heads the non-profit Information Security Forum. In his new capacity, he will report to the National Security Council at the White House, co-ordinating the federal government's cybsersecurity policy for both military and civilian agencies.
An Air Force and FBI veteran, Schmidt also previously served as chief security officer at software titan Microsoft and online retail giant eBay. Citing his four decades of experience in government, business and law enforcement, Brennan called Schmidt "one of the world's leading authorities on computer security." "Protecting the Internet is critical to our national security, public safety and our personal privacy and civil liberties," he said.
The nomination comes as the Pentagon launches a new cyber command unit and the Department of Homeland Security seeks to boost the protection of civilian networks. In October, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her department had received the green light to hire up to 1,000 cybersecurity experts over the next three years.