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Government Security

Agency walls too high for US Cyber Security Czar?

By Robin Hicks | 4 January 2010

Howard Schmidt, the newly appointed United States Cyber Security Coordinator, faces the daunting challenge of ensuring that different government agencies cooperate on cyber security issues, a senior government official has told FutureGov.

Mark Weatherford, the Director and Chief Information Security Officer of California, said that the tallest hurdle for Schmidt, who was appointed Cyber Security “czar” in December after seven months of political wrangling over the role, will be to ensure that agencies “understand that the problem is enterprise (national) in scope and to think outside their agency walls.”

Another problem, he added, was “government inertia”.

However, Weatherford noted: “The good news is that it’s relatively early in the Obama Administration so he has time to begin developing relationships stay the course for the length of time it takes to get the job done.”

Many were interviewed for the “cyber czar” position, which has since be renamed Cyber Coordinator. But candidates including former Virginia congressman Tom Davis, Microsoft executive Scott Charney and Symantec Chairman John W. Thompson declined the job over concerns that it lacked real power. But this should not concern Schmidt, Weatherford said.

“If he [Schmidt] can use his influence with the President to come out strong and direct agencies to cooperate, he can make a huge difference. He is well-known and respected on a national level which gives a great advantage in working throughout the federal government. Time is his enemy and he needs to take advantage of the problem/policy/political streams to avoid missing the current policy window.”

Schmidt, a former Microsoft and eBay executive, served as Special Adviser for Cyberspace Security from 2001 to 2003 and was a Senior Advisor for the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. His appointment followed the launch of a “cyber-command” unit by the Department of Homeland Security to bolster the protection of civilian networks.

While Weatherford declined to give advice for governments in Asia looking to appoint a cyber czar, he said that any government should think carefully about whether or not they want to make cyber security a national priority.

“If it’s not a national priority, it could result in the creation of another government structure without any influence or the ability to make change. And that could make the situation worse - it might diminish future hopes of establishing a credible national cyber security program.”

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