Network Security News

Acting U.S. cybersecurity czar Hathaway resigns

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Melissa Hathaway, the top White House cybersecurity official and a holdover from the Bush administration, announced yesterday that she was resigning for personal reasons.

Hathaway told the Wall Street Journal that she had provided an "initial down payment" for what needs to be done for national cybersecurity. A White House spokesman said a rigorous search is underway to find a replacement.

In the first 60 days of the new administration, Hathaway was charged with conducting a comprehensive review of cybersecurity policies and needs. Among its primary recommendations was for creating a White House position to oversee cybersecurity efforts - a cybersecurity "czar," as it has become known.

But it has been months without an official appointment and several candidates for the job have reportedly turned it down. Hathaway told the Journal that she removed her name from consideration.

Not everyone agrees that such a position is even desirable or that it would be an effective way to tackle the nation's considerable cybersecurity challenges, including spying on its networks, breaches of sensitive data and cyberattacks on government websites.

Writing at Wired magazine's Danger Room blog, Michael Tanji noted that a cyber czar would have no power over service providers that are "the underpinnings of cyberspace."

"Despite grandiose claims to the contrary, the government has very little direct impact on how safe national resources are online," Tanji said.