.png)
The logos of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on computer terminals in a training room of the Cyber Crimes Center of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
President Obama announced computer security specialist Howard Schmidt as the new White House Cybersecurity Coordinator this past Tuesday. The veteran anti-hacker expert will serve on the National Security Staff and will have regular access to the president, according to an e-mail from Homeland Security adviser John Brennan that was posted on the White House Web site.
In May 2009, President Obama called cyber threats "one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation."
Prior to taking this position, Howard Schmidt was the president and CEO of the nonprofit Information Security Forum and has 40 years experience working in government, law enforcement, and the private sector. He previously served as Internet security adviser under Bush from 2001 to 2003.
In a video of Schmidt speaking on the White House's Web site, he says "Our lives have been enriched in countless ways by technologies that are now part of the very fabric of our day to day lives." These technologies have also made privacy and security more vulnerable to data and identity theft through cyber attacks by malware, spyware, phishing, pharming, and others. On a larger scale, cyber attacks can destroy infrastructure, disrupt business and banking systems, and jeopardize sensitive defense and military data.
According to the 2009 Annual Report to Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in 2008 the number of reported cyber attacks against the Department of Defense was 54,640. In 2009, from Jan. 1 to June 30, the number was 43,785.
According to the report, Army Brigadier General John Davis, deputy commander of the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, in April 2009 said that during the preceding six months the U.S. military spent more than $100 million on ‘‘manpower, time, contractors, tools, technology, and procedures’’ to remedy attacks on its networks.
As cybersecurity coordinator, Schmidt is tasked with putting together a new, comprehensive strategy for cybersecurity to safeguard networks in the United States. It will also be his job to orchestrate the many cybersecurity activities across the government and make sure the response to future cyber incidents is organized and unified. According to the video of Schmidt speaking on the White House's Web site, President Obama has asked him to strengthen public-private collaboration, as well as collaboration with international allies. He has also been asked to lead a campaign for cybersecurity awareness and promote research and development of new technologies for cybersecurity.
In June 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the forming of a new military command to handle both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, reported Agence France-Presse June 23. This Cyber Command began operating in October and is designed to fight cyberwarfare and protect U.S. computer networks.
