Cybersecurity Czar Abruptly Resigns

Recently there was a proposal which was DOA (dead on arrival) on Capitol Hill to move the office of Cybersecurity within the White House. There have long been complaints that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not take cybersecurity seriously enough and has not done enough to protect the critical infrastructure that provides the backbone of both commerce and defense from potential disruption by an attack. In the past three years Richard Clarke, author of Against All Enemies, and Howard Schmidt both resigned from the post of Cybersecurity Czar amid frustration about the lack of power granted to the seemingly ceremonial position. Amit Yoran was named as the Cybersecurity Czar in 2003 and today resigned abruptly, giving only one day's notice, after only a year on the job. At one point the Bush administration had come up with a National Strategy to Protect Cyberspace which contained a variety of sound ideas for cybersecurity. However, the administration caved to pressure from lobbyists and watered the document down to the point where it was ineffective. With Cybersecurity Czars coming and going through a revolving door, it is apparent why so many security industry experts feel that this administration and the DHS do not take the task of cybersecurity seriously. For more details about Yoran's resignation see this NY Times article: U.S. Cybersecurity Chief Abruptly Resigns.