The White House’s cybersecurity coordinator will retire after having already extended his two -year contract by half a year.
Howard Schmidt, 62, oversaw the first legislative proposal on cybersecurity, and informed the government on the nature and dangers of potential attacks… and how to prevent them, writes the Washington Post.
In addition to Schmidt’s advisory role, he helped coordinate the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. His term also saw the country’s first international strategy for cyberspace, raising cyber security issues to the level of any other physical or economic threat to the country.
In 2009 Obama stressed that networks handling data for commerce, energy production and military operations are a “strategic national asset” to be protected at all costs, says the Post.
While Schmidt spends more time with his family and pursues teaching in the cyber field, his duties will be picked up by Michael Daniel, chief of the White House budget office’s intelligence branch.
Daniel has handled cybersecurity issues for the past 10 of 17 years he’s worked at the Office of Management and Budget. Daniels, 41, has been key to shaping intelligence budgets and intelligence reforms after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
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