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Computerworld - President Obama later this week will formally appoint a cyber czar to coordinate a national strategy for securing cyberspace, The Washington Post reported today.

The czar will have unprecedented authority to oversee the development and enforcement of policies for protecting critical government and private infrastructure assets against cyberattacks. The adviser is expected to be a member of the National Security Council and will report both to the national security adviser and the senior White House economic adviser, the Post said, citing unnamed government sources.

It's unclear what rank and title the new official will hold, but the goal is to have someone who will have direct access to the president on cybersecurity matters, the unnamed Post sources said.

The appointment will coincide with the release by the White House of a report summarizing the findings of a cybersecurity review undertaken earlier this year at the president's behest, the Post said.

The 60-day review was led by Melissa Hathaway, a Bush administration aide who was appointed acting senior director for cyberspace by Obama in February. Hathaway was asked to examine how federal cybersecurity efforts could be better aligned with the threats they are designed to mitigate. Her review was completed in April.

Among those whose names have been cited as potential candidates for the post are Hathaway and Paul Kurtz, former special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for critical infrastructure protection on the White House's Homeland Security Council. Kurtz is a partner at Washington-based security consultancy Good Harbor Consulting LLC.

Obama's appointment is sure to be welcomed by many in the security industry who have been clamoring for the creation of a cybersecurity post within the executive offices of the president. Hathaway has been among those arguing for a more direct White House role.

Speaking at the RSA Security Conference last month, Hathaway said the White House alone had a broad enough perspective and influence to force government agencies to make the changes they need to bolster security.

"Protecting cyberspace requires strong vision and leadership and will require changes in policy, technology, education and perhaps law," she said at the time. Hathaway said that based on her review, the federal government isn't organized to address threats in cyberspace. Responsibilities for cyberspace are scattered across too many departments, and many of them have overlapping missions and authorities, she said.

Similar views were expressed earlier this year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank that in December submitted a set of cybersecurity recommendations to the president. Among the recommendations was one that called for the creation of a White House office that would have the authority to develop and enforce a national strategy for cybersecurity.