Fergie's Tech Blog

Obama's Unwilling Cyber Czars

Andy Greenberg writes on Forbes.com:

America's cyber czar, despite the impressive title, may not be such a coveted job after all. As early as this week, President Obama is expected to appoint a national cybersecurity adviser, who will report to the oval office and run the White House's efforts to defend the government from hackers and cyberspies. But for those hoping to get a sense of the cyber czar's place in Washington's pecking order, the appointee's name may not be as important as the names of those who have politely declined the role.

According to cybersecurity industry insiders monitoring the appointment process, at least three people were informally offered the cyber czar post and turned it down, including former Virginia Sen. Tom Davis, Microsoft security executive Scott Charney and Good Harbor Consulting Executive Paul Kurtz. One reason that the czarship has remained unfilled for the six months since Obama has taken office, those sources say, may be that the position has taken a back seat to another issue: the economy.

posted by Fergie @ 7/20/2009 05:25:00 PM