August 4th, 2009
Has government red-tape and politics hurt cybersecurity efforts?
Governmental red tape - and probably some Washington politics, as well - has prompted the White House’s senior cybersecurity aide to resign, according to reports. Her reason: delays in appointing a national cybersecurity czar.
Melissa E. Hathaway, who was also a cybersecurity aide during the Bush years, told The Washington Post that she withdrew her application for the top job and will likely continue to tackle cybersecurity matters from the private sector. She told The Post:
I wasn’t willing to continue to wait any longer, because I’m not empowered right now to continue to drive the change. I’ve concluded that I can do more now from a different role
A source told The Post that Hathaway believed that the decision to appoint someone into the top job had become political and that her ties to the Bush administration were hurting her chances.
Earlier this year, President Obama revealed his cybersecurity plans and announced plans to create the top position. The official word from the White House is that the cybersecurity is a “major priority for the President,” according to a Wall Street Journal report, and that “the president is personally committed to finding the right person for this job, and a rigorous selection process is well under way.”
According to reports, about 30 people have been interviewed for the job.
In the meantime, cybersecurity remains a top concern elsewhere in Washington. This week, the U.S. Marine Corps said they were blocking access to social networking sites to keep hackers and other attackers from accessing the military’s network through social sites. And the WSJ report notes that intelligence officials have become more concerned in the last year about “Chinese and Russian cyberspies surveilling U.S. infrastructure and military networks.”
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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