[IP] White House picks tech entrepreneur for Cyber Security post

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

________________________________________
From: Jim Brenton [brentonj@swbell.net]
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 8:40 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: White House picks tech entrepreneur for Cyber Security post

Dave,

Please consider this for your IP list.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9899047-7.html

<quote>
A Silicon Valley entrepreneur has been chosen to run the new National Cyber
Security Center, an agency charged with coordinating efforts to protect the
federal government's computer networks from cyberattacks, according to
published reports.

Rod Beckstrm, 47, is expected to be appointed to the post Thursday and
report directly to Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and The
Washington Post. The secretive center was created by a national security
directive signed by President Bush in January.
</quote>

Some analysis here:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/03/military-surren.html

<quote>
If there is one area where the government consistently gets sub-par marks
for performance, its cyber security. So-called report cards on how agencies
are defending against attacks might generously be described as woefully
inadequate. As the government kicks off a new initiative to steel itself
against cyber attack you would think that they would tap a security guru of
some renown to lead it, right?

Wrong.

After burning through any cyber security name you might have heard of and
paying through the nose for some you might not have, the job fell to the
management theorist du jour:
</quote>

Reference to recent book; however, I am not sure how these skills and
approach will help Mr. Beckstrm clean up the mess to which he has been
thrown.
http://www.amazon.com/Starfish-Spider-Unstoppable-Leaderless-Organizations/d
p/1591841437

Jim Brenton, CISSP


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