New cybersecurity chief Howard Schmidt
(Credit: The White House)The White House's new cybersecurity chief faces a tough agenda, but will be able to draw on the lessons of a 40-year career, including stints at Microsoft and eBay.
Former security adviser Howard Schmidt is returning to the White House as President Obama's new cybersecurity coordinator, the White House announced Tuesday.
In his new role, Schmidt will report to the National Security Council. Schmidt will also "have regular access to the president," said an official who spoke to The New York Times.
Earlier this year, President Obama initiated a review of the government's cybersecurity policies in an effort to streamline operations. Turf wars among various agencies and a perceived weakness in the Department of Homeland Security had raised red flags, prompting the president to declare that the country was not adequately prepared on the cybersecurity front.
Following that review, the White House identified a need for a new cybersecurity chief, then plunged into a tricky, months-long process that now brings Schmidt back to public service.
President Barack Obama greets his new White House cybersecurity chief Howard A. Schmidt in the Cross Hall of the White House.
(Credit: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)In a recorded speech introducing himself, Schmidt said he sees information technology as offering great opportunities but also great dangers to national security, public safety, economic competitiveness, and personal privacy. As dependence on technology increases, he said, the need to protect our security and privacy also increases.
As such, Schmidt said that the president has directed him to focus on several key areas:
• developing a new and comprehensive strategy to secure U.S. networks to ensure an organized response to future cyber incidents;
• beefing up both public and private partnerships in the U.S. and abroad;
• promoting research and development of next-generation technologies;
• and leading a national campaign to promote cybersecurity, awareness, and education.
Acknowledging that Washington can't solve cybersecurity problems on its own, Schmidt said his agenda is to bring together the government, the private sector, and other stakeholders as part of a new and comprehensive cyberstrategy to strengthen online defenses.
Following Schmidt's appointment, a variety of security analysts offered their thoughts.
In a Tuesday blog post, Randy Abrams of security vendor ESET said that Schmidt is very smart and personable, possessing a depth of knowledge and experience that makes him one of the best possible candidates for the job. But Abrams cautioned people not to expect miracles or fast changes as Schmidt will face huge obstacles trying to coordinate security across different government agencies, most of which have people who think their way is the only way to do things.
Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO of security vendor PGP, where Schmidt serves on the board of directors, said: "Howard's familiarity with public sector, private sector, large vendors and small innovative companies should be a great asset to this unique position; one that will just expand as our nation's dependency on cyber communications continues to grow." He also stressed that Schmidt will need to jump in quickly and form a solid working relationship with the Department of Defense and with the federal government's chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, and chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra.
Schmidt brings to his new post a lengthy resume of government service, with a particular niche in computer crimes and forensics. Early in his career, he worked for the FBI's National Drug Intelligence Center, where he ran the Computer Exploitation Team. He also was a special agent and program director for the Air Force, where he set up one of the government's first dedicated computer forensic labs.
His new post will be Schmidt's second stint at the White House. In December 2001, just after the 9/11 attacks, he was appointed vice chairman for President Bush's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and deputy to former White House cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke. Schmidt left his post in February 2003 to return to the private sector. During his tenure with the Bush administration, he helped create a new cybersecurity plan, which at the time was criticized as being too watered down, a charge that Schmidt disputed.
In the private sector, Schmidt served as chief security officer for Microsoft from 1997 to 2001 before joining the White House. After leaving his government post, he joined eBay in 2003 as vice president for security.
More recently, Schmidt was the president and CEO of the Information Security Forum, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on risks and research in the cyberworld.
Updated December 23, 4:00 a.m. PST with comments from security analysts.
Tampa authorities will utilize Microsoft's Surface touch-screen device, along with other technologies, as part of Super Bowl Sunday security, according to Ars Technica.
For well over a year now, more than 60 federal, state, regional, local, and municipal authorities have been working with the E-Sponder technology partnership to plan security details for Super Bowl XLIII, one of the only major sporting events that receives national security status.
Beginning this week and continuing past the final game whistle, E-Sponder will connect on-site and remote authorities, allowing them to remotely track all activities in real time with mapping, as well as 3D displays, two-way radio integration, and immediate communication.
Together with Infusion Development's Falcon Eye technology, the Tampa Incident Command staff will use the E-Sponder portal to visualize all aspects of Super Bowl goings-on.
The Microsoft Surface device will display a Microsoft Virtual Earth map of the entire region, tracking events and incidents in real time using its large display and multi-user, multitouch, and interactive capabilities, and also allowing it to communicate with remote devices and PCs.
With a quick hand gesture, the map can zoom in and display a 3D image of the city, including detailed views of buildings and streets and real-time resource tracking.
(Credit:
Unisys)
Internet security isn't a top concern among most average people, says a report released Tuesday by Unisys. What concerns most people is National Security, followed by financial worries.
"Whether it is the headline news that people listen to every day, or whatever is driving it, it's gone up 26 to 32 percent on this survey," said Tim Kelleher, vice president, enterprise security, Unisys. He said the results were surprising since the presidential election came down to where the candidates stood on the economy not the war.
Unisys focused its survey on four broad areas: national security, financial safety, Internet safety, and personal safety. Results in each category were combined and the composite score rated on a scale from 0 (not concerned) to 300 points (extremely concerned). At 145 points, the United States fell somewhere in the middle. An international version of this survey out in December will compare the U.S. with other nations.
"We're trying to do something that no one else has done," Kelleher said. "We're looking at security in a much broader sense then just cybersecurity, a personal security perspective, trying to do a broad brush of security from the perspective of an average citizen to get a sense of where the public is out there."
(Credit:
Unisys)
Among the other findings: Those aged 18 to 24 were less concerned about viruses and spam than those aged 25 to 49. Kelleher didn't want to speculate but said the younger age group seemed more comfortable with the Internet. The under-24 age group also missed the Melissa/ILoveYou/Slammer virus days and, therefore, aren't as concerned about epidemics. On the other hand, there's a spike among the 35- to 49-year-olds who would have been fighting these online epidemics five to ten years ago.
And people living in the South and West tend to be "extremely" or "very" concerned as opposed to people in the Northeast and Midwest.
(Credit:
Unisys)
More than 1,000 U.S.-based residents responded to questions from Unisys. The survey was conducted September 5-7 and is part of a larger, international survey due out in December.
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