Bipartisan bill could bring back the White House national cyber director role

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3564539/bipartisan-bill-could-bring-back-the-white-house-national-cyber-director-role.html

By Cynthia Brumfield
CSO
July 1, 2020

Last week a bipartisan group of US House of Representatives legislators 
introduced the National Cyber Director Act to create the position of a 
national cyber director within the White House. The creation of this role 
is one of the chief recommendations of an increasingly influential 
intergovernmental group known as the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

The commission issued its report -- the product of months-long 
deliberations by four members from congress, four senior executive agency 
leaders and six experts from outside of government – just as the 
coronavirus pandemic quarantine kicked in during March. Nevertheless, the 
commission’s 80 recommendations, such as creating a national cyber 
director, are quickly being translated into actionable legislation on 
Capitol Hill.

Two of the commission’s leaders, Cyberspace Solarium Chair Congressman Jim 
Langevin (D-RI) and Solarium Co-Chair Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI), 
introduced the bill. Other legislators backing the bill include House 
Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on 
Cybersecurity, Infrastructure and Innovation John Katko (R-NY), former 
Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee C. A. Dutch 
Ruppersberger (D-MD), and Ranking Member of the House Intelligence 
Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness Will 
Hurd (R-TX).

The creation of a top official responsible for cybersecurity in the White 
House is not a new idea. Howard Schmidt and Richard Clarke served as 
special cybersecurity advisers to the president in the George W. Bush 
White House. Schmidt and Michael Daniel both served as White House 
cybersecurity coordinator under President Obama. Rob Joyce served as 
cybersecurity coordinator under Donald Trump until he was pushed out by 
then-National Security Advisor John Bolton.

[...]

--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
https://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
Follow InfoSec News on Twitter
https://twitter.com/infosecnews_
Follow InfoSec News on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/infosecnews/