White House names cybersecurity coordinator

The White House today named Howard Schmidt, the former president and CEO of the Information Security Forum, as the new White House Cybersecurity coordinator. (Techmeme)

Schmidt, according to his video on the whitehouse.gov site, has also been the Chief Information Security Office for eBay, the Chief Security officer for Microsoft, the vice-chair of the President's critical infrastructure protection board and a special advisor of cyberspace security for the White House. Schmidt said he has also worked in federal and local law enforcement, as well as the Department of Defense.

In a statement, John Brennan, assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, called Schmidt "one of the world's leading authorities on computer security" who will be responsible for "orchestrating the many important cybersecurity activities across the government." He wrote:

Cybersecurity matters to all of us. Protecting the Internet is critical to our national security, public safety and our personal privacy and civil liberties. It's also vital to President Obama's efforts to strengthen our country, from the modernization of our health care system to the high-tech job creation central to our economic recovery.

Brennan said that Schmidt will have regular access to the President and serve as a key member of his National Security Staff. Schmidt's video, which is also on whitehouse.gov, is embedded below.