White House Taps Tech Entrepreneur For Cyber Defense Post

[flashl]

Source: Washington Post

The Bush administration is planning to tap a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to head a new inter-agency group charged with coordinating the federal government's efforts to protect its computer networks from organized cyber attacks.

Sources in the government contracting community said the White House is expected to announce as early as Thursday the selection of Rod A. Beckstrom as a top-level adviser based in the Department of Homeland Security. Beckstrom is an author and entrepreneur best known for starting Twiki.net, a company that provides collaboration software for businesses.

The new inter-agency group, which will coordinate information sharing about cyber attacks aimed at government networks, is being created as part of a government-wide "cyber initiative" spelled out in a national security directive signed in January by President Bush, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they did not have permission to talk publicly about the information.

The presidential directive expanded the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems. According to the sources, the center will be charged with gathering cyber attack and vulnerability information from a wide range of federal agencies, including the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Defense Department. Beckstrom will report directly to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Washington Post

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031903125.html

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The beginning of the end?

[SpiralHawk]

1. Hmmm? Does this guy have a clue about backing up e-mails?

Because the allegedly incompetent e-mailers at Commander AWOL's besmirched White House could desperately use a an Email 101 class, or maybe more to the point, they could benefit themselves and the nation enormously by taking a simple lesson in telling the truth.

Free Moral Clue for Commander AWOL & republicon cronies: HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

[fascisthunter]

2. Right Wingers Love Intelligence When it Suits Their Devious Needs