Monday, February 9, 2009

DNI Official To Be Obama Cyber Czar?

The White House planned to announce as early as Monday that Melissa Hathaway, top cybersecurity adviser to the director of national intelligence under President George W.Bush, will oversee a review of federal cybersecurity efforts, after which she will likely be offered the post of cyber czar, an intelligence official confirmed Friday. Hathaway, who was senior adviser to former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and previously worked as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, will leave the office for 60 days to conduct the review of overall cyber organization and strategy in the federal government, sources told GovExec.com.

Hathaway will lead the review with the National Security Council, the president's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy issues with senior advisers and Cabinet officials. The council also helps coordinate policies among federal agencies. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is running a parallel review at that department outlining the state of cybersecurity in government. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Carper, D-Del., lauded the news but said the exploration must not stop with Hathaway's assessment.

"I will continue to monitor cyber security issues and work with the Obama administration to ensure our nation's sensitive information and critical infrastructure is protected," Carper said. "America's military, economy and way of life depend on our ability to send and receive accurate and reliable information quickly and securely. Unfortunately, I have seen evidence of criminal groups and even foreign nations looking to do us harm by exploiting vulnerabilities in our information infrastructure."

Update: The announcement about Hathaway came at 6:45 p.m. Follow the jump for the official White House press release...

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 9, 2009

President Obama Directs the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors to Conduct Immediate Cyber Security Review

Melissa Hathaway Selected to Lead the Review

President Obama has directed the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors to conduct an immediate review of the plan, programs, and activities underway throughout the government dedicated to cyber security.

This 60-day interagency review will develop a strategic framework to ensure that U.S. Government cyber security initiatives are appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated with Congress and the private sector.

"The national security and economic health of the United States depend on the security, stability, and integrity of our Nation's cyberspace, both in the public and private sectors. The President is confident that we can protect our nation's critical cyber infrastructure while at the same time adhering to the rule of law and safeguarding privacy rights and civil liberties," said Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan.

Melissa Hathaway, who has served as Cyber coordination Executive to the Director of National Intelligence, will lead the review and will serve as Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils during the review period.

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