White House Cybersecurity Efforts Stalling; What is the Deal??

With the recent resignation of Obama administration’s acting cyber-security czar, Melissa Hathaway, we have to wonder what is the deal? Several months back cybersecurity — rightly so — was a top agenda item for the Obama administration. We had the news of our air traffic systems being compromised, the Pentagon experienced 360 million attempts to breach its networks, and the list goes on and on. So, what’s going on? The 60-day cyber review was concluded more than 2 months ago, and the Obama administration has yet to appoint the cyber security czar. Wasn’t Hathaway an ideal candidate for this position?

Perhaps it is bureaucratic hurdles are getting in the way? Last week, Mischel Kwon, the Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, submitted her resignation letter. A top operational official in charge of protecting civilian government computer networks, Kwon as frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of authority to fulfill her mission, according to colleagues who spoke on the condition of anonymity with the Washington Post.

So, has cybersecurity taken a back seat to the health care reform circus that is happening today? Something needs to be done because these efforts are stalling and the bad guys are moving and innovating very quickly.