Schmidt: A Take-No-Nonsense Cybersecurity "Czar"

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Howard Schmidt, the information security expert who President Obama tapped Tuesday as his cybersecurity coordinator and who served as a senior cybersecurity adviser in the Bush administration, is characterized as a no-nonsense leader who will take no guff from senior White House advisers in advancing the administration's cybersecurity initiatives.

"Howard is going to surprise a lot of people in Washington," Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute and, who like Schmidt, is one of the nation's leading information security authorities, said in an e-mail message to GovInfoSecurity.com. "He had extraordinary successes as CISO (chief information security officer) at Microsoft - at a time when security wasn't very high on most of the Microsoft officers' priority lists. He has demonstrated that he can forge sufficient support to overcome resistance and get things done."

According to an e-mail message broadcast over the Internet by John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, Schmidt will have regular access to the president and serve as a key member of his National Security staff. "He also will also work closely with his economic team to ensure that our cybersecurity efforts keep the nation secure and prosperous," Brennan said. Originally, President Obama envisioned the post as reporting to both the national security and national economic councils.

Schmidt, in a video posted on the White House website, said the president had directed him to focus on several priority areas:

• Develop a new, comprehensive cybersecurity strategy;
• Secure American critical information networks;
• Ensure an organized, unified response to future cyber incidents;
• Strengthen public-private partnerships here at home and international partnerships with allies and partners;
• Promote research and development of next generation of technologies; and
• Lead a national campaign to promote cybersecurity awareness and education.

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"Because ultimately no one - not government, not the private sector, not individual citizens - can keep us safe and strong alone when it comes to cybersecurity, our vulnerability is shared," Schmidt said. "And, so is our responsibility to ensure that our networks are secure, trustworthy and resilient. So, as I told the president, I'm committed to bring all these stakeholders together around a new, comprehensive cyber strategy that keeps America secure and prosperous."

Single Report

It appears that one concession made to Schmidt to take the job was that he would report to the president only through National Security Adviser James Jones, and not also to National Security Adviser Lawrence Summers. One reason the job was hard to fill was the original dual-reporting nature of the post, several cybersecurity experts said. "There are just not that many people who have that kind of resume and have the experience within government and within the private sector that is going to be necessary to help really lead both the government and the private sector forward as what is needed for the president," Melissa Hathaway, who led Obama's 60-day cybersecurity policy review, said in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com.

Paller said Schmidt in the previous administration had been "burnt badly by overzealous White House Council of Economic Advisers staff members, when they emasculated the original draft of the National Strategy to Secure Cyber Space," an experience that should prove to be of great value to the new cybersecurity coordinator. "So," Paller said, "I expect he wouldn't have taken the job without getting some assurance that Larry Summers will not veto any initiatives that ask industry to ensure the security of the products and services they sell or the security of the power and communications networks."

Karen Evans, who worked with Schmidt when she was the Bush administration's de facto federal chief information officer, called the new cybersecurity coordinator an excellent choice because he's a "seasoned veteran of the White House" with extensive knowledge of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and policymaking. "Howard," Evans said in an e-mail message, "knows how the White House works and he has stayed involved in the federal community."