Stay Ahead With Linux Security News

cybersecurity leadershiphomeland securitygovernment security

Garcia Appointed As Homeland Security Cybersecurity Chief

Chertoff said on Monday that Gregory Garcia, who has been working at a Washington-area trade association, would become the department's first assistant secretary for cybersecurity, with responsibility for advising agencies and the private sector. The announcement ends a vacancy at Homeland Security that lasted more than 14 months and a wait that drew criticism from members of Congress, who it said demonstrated that Chertoff has not taken the topic seriously. . "Quite simply, our nation has been without adequate leadership on cybersecurity," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, wrote in an opinion article that CNET News.com published in July. Republicans have also recently criticized Homeland Security's cybersecurity efforts, and a series of government reports has painted a picture of bureaucratic ineptitude. Chertoff acknowledged last year that he had "initial concerns" about raising the profile of cybersecurity in a bureaucratic culture that had focused on physical threats since Sept. 11, 2001. It took a formal vote last May in the U.S. House of Representatives to create the position--and an expected one in the Senate--to prompt Chertoff to acquiesce two months later. Garcia, who prior to accepting his new position was a vice president at the Information Technology Association of America, will succeed Donald "Andy" Purdy Jr., a two-year contract employee on loan from Carnegie Mellon University. Purdy, who has been criticized for taking the job of running a department that awarded at least $19 million in contracts to his university employer this year, was the acting cybersecurity chief. . 'Quite simply, our nation has been without adequate leadership on cybersecurity,' Rep. Zoe Lofgren, . chertoff, monday, gregory, garcia, working, washington-area, trade, associa. . Brittany Day

Sep 19, 2006 • Brittany Day Government