Obama Cybersecurity Czar Schmidt Steps Down

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.darkreading.com/compliance/167901112/security/news/240000583/obama-cybersecurity-czar-schmidt-steps-down.html

By Kelly Jackson Higgins
Dark Reading
May 17, 2012

The nation's first cybersecurity czar, Howard A. Schmidt, has resigned 
his historic post and will be succeeded by Michael Daniel, chief of the 
White House budget office's intelligence branch.

Schmidt said in a statement that he is leaving to spend more time with 
his family and to teach in the technology field. "It has been a 
tremendous honor for me to have served in this role and to have worked 
with such dedicated and professional colleagues both in the government 
and private sector," the 62-year-old Schmidt said in a statement 
reported in The Hill. "We have made real progress in our efforts to 
better deal with the risks in cyberspace so, around the world, we can 
all realize the full benefits that cyberspace brings us."

Daniel, 41, has been with the Office of Management and Budget for 17 
years, the past 10 of which he worked on cybersecurity, according to a 
report in The Washington Post. Daniel helped establish funding for the 
Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative under George W. Bush's 
administration, and has worked on intelligence community issues and 
budgets.

President Obama in December 2009 named Schmidt to the newly created 
post. Schmidt had most recently served as president and CEO of the 
international nonprofit Information Security Forum and was previously 
chief information security officer at eBay and at Microsoft. "The 
president has directed me to focus on several priority areas: developing 
a new comprehensive strategy to secure American networks, ensuring an 
organized, unified response to future cyber-incidents; strengthening 
public-private partnerships here at home and international partnerships 
with allies and partners; promoting research and development of the 
next-generation of technologies; and leading a national campaign to 
promote cybersecurity awareness and education," Schmidt had said in a 
video statement after his being named to the post. "Because ultimately 
no one -- not government, not the private sector, not individuals -- can 
keep us safe and strong alone."

[...]


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