House Cybersecurity Caucus co-chairs Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, pressed the administration before August recess to move quickly in appointing a high-level official to coordinate agencies' efforts to identify and guard against attacks on public and private sector IT networks. Their statements came on the heels of the news that Melissa Hathaway, acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils, was resigning effective Aug. 21.

Christopher Painter, the National Security Council's cyber chief, has been helping Chopra and Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra with cyber planning since Hathaway's departure. Chopra called Painter, a former leader of the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, "an incredibly talented guy." For his part, Kundra has held recent meetings with industry stakeholders -- particularly from the financial services sector -- on strategies to bridge the gap between government and private sector IT security efforts.