A CISO in the White House – Good News for Security

It’s been widely reported that the White House is expected to hire a CISO to oversee the information security of all federal agencies.

In the wake of several high-profile breaches of important federal agencies over the last three years, the Obama administration is looking to fill the CISO position to help coordinate security across agencies. Currently, there are several offices charged with the security of government systems, from DHS to NSA to the special assistant to the president for cybersecurity. However, like many private companies and local governments have found, having one key executive in charge of information security does actually make a difference.

The CISO position will be under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which, as Tony Scott, Federal CISO, was quoted as saying “One of the things that’s unique about OMB, it has both management and budget responsibilities. Those are both two powerful things that can help shape and influence practice in each agency.”

Many in the industry are speculating on what this means for information security and more specifically, the role of the CISO. It seems this move by the White House can only elevate the role of the CISO, helping to make having a security advocate in the boardroom more of a standard practice rather than a luxury.

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