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Obama's Cybersecurity Czar Resigns From Post

by Caleb Johnson on August 4, 2009 at 01:43 PM


Two months after delivering a speech that outlined sweeping cybersecurity plans, President Barack Obama and his staff are still struggling with just how to protect the country from electronic terrorists and spies. With the resignation of the woman many people thought could take the reigns, things won't get any easier, either.

Melissa Hathaway, who led a cybersecurity review in April, resigned Monday for personal reasons from her implicit post as the acting cybersecurity czar, The Wall Street Journal reports. Hathaway says she laid the groundwork for what the Obama administration needs to do in order to shore up the country's cybersecurity. However, Hathaway's departure is troubling news since the White House must now presumably begin a new search for someone to fill the post. A couple of names have emerged as leading contenders: Franklin Kramer, assistant defense secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Howard Schmidt, a former eBay top security officer.

According to the Journal, government officials have grown more concerned that U.S. infrastructure and military networks are susceptible to surveillance by Chinese and Russian spies. The president says cybersecurity remains a top priority of his administration. With folks seemingly avoiding the cyber czar position like the plague, and the economy falling down around us, it begs the question: how long will Obama remain committed to this effort? [From: The Wall Street Journal]

Tags: cyber security, CyberSecurity, defense, obama, security, spy, top, white house, WhiteHouse

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