Private-sector IT execs see diminished cybersecurity role

A major DHS cyber security post remains vacant

By Dan Verton

July 21, 2003 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- This Friday marks the end of the 30-day period in which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hoped it would hire a leader for its cybersecurity division. But there are serious doubts about whether the DHS will be able to hire the right person this week or even in the foreseeable future.
According to the former top cybersecurity adviser to the president, a high-level source in the DHS and IT industry executives, many of the most qualified candidates have been turned off by what they perceive as the administration's surprising change of heart on cybersecurity.
"The elimination of the presidential position [of cybersecurity adviser] sent a message that the White House no longer cares about this issue," said Richard Clarke, former chairman of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. "They will eventually find someone who will agree to do it anyway, but they will be so hamstrung that it will take at least a year to regain the capability that we had in 2001."


John Copeland, chairman and chief scientist at Lancope Inc.

Clarke is now chairman of Arlington, Va.-based Good Harbor Consulting LLC .
A former senior administration official who requested anonymity said many of the candidates who possess the skills necessary to do the job are senior executives in the private sector who are concerned about a lack of authority in a position that will require a significant amount of cross-agency collaboration.
In addition, many are wary of what the official characterized as "an axis of evil" comprising the National Economic Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) -- agencies that have sought to redirect the administration's attention to other priorities.
A senior DHS official, who also requested anonymity, said two candidates have been identified for the position and have said they are willing to accept the job. However, the official said that Robert P. Liscouski, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the DHS, seems to be holding out for a high-profile executive with impeccable qualifications.
The person who steps up to the challenge will likely do so out of a sense of duty and patriotism, not because of the way the DHS is managing the effort, according to a half-dozen senior IT industry executives interviewed for this story.
"For a person to take this job, they have to be comfortable with the laissez-faire approach toward IT security, which I'm not comfortable with," said John Copeland, chairman and chief scientist at Lancope Inc., an intrusion-detection system vendor in

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Legislation/Regulation

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Do You Know the 7 Steps to Successful Data Migration?

Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.

WHITE PAPER

Total Cost of Ownership of Server Computing Vs. PCs

Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.

WHITE PAPER

IDC White Paper: Linux in a Global Recession

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.

White Papers & Webcasts

Informatica 9 Launch: Transform your Business. Transform your world.

LIVE Nov 10, 2009 12:00 PM ET

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change: The Open Solution

LIVE Nov 12, 2009 02:00 PM ET

Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
Learn how to successfully deploy a WAN optimization solution that is specifically tuned for a mobile environment!

Top to Bottom Performance Management Excellence at the City of Chicago
View now.

Faster, Cheaper and Easier to Maintain
Can you afford not to upgrade your servers to today's advanced, energy-efficient technologies?

Effectively Implementing Datacenter Automation
Effectively select and deploy the best datacenter automation solution today!

The State of PCI DSS Compliance at Organizations Today
Download this resource today!

Aligning IT to Business: The Rising Importance of Application Delivery Networks
Application Delivery Networking (ADN) will play a vital role in helping enterprises incorporate strategic technologies to achieve business initiatives.

IDC Research Report: The Business Value of Consolidating on Energy-Efficient Servers
Download this Resource Now!

Strategies for Driving Down IT Support Costs with Lite ITIL Practices
View this now!

HP Technology Guide for Scalable Business Solutions
Download This Resource Now!

Mitigate Risk, Lower Costs and Improve Network Efficiency
Create a stable IP network that not only meets today's challenges, but is flexible enough to also meet future demands.

All White Papers | All Webcasts