Part of President Barack Obama's plan to bolster cybersecurity during his last year in office includes creation of a new commission to compile the best practices and tools for securing the Internet and critical infrastructure for the next 10 years.
Now the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity has a leader: former White House national security adviser Tom Donilon, who counseled the president on national security and cyber issues from 2009 to 2013, first as deputy, then as a principle adviser.
Donilon will share his leadership duties with newly appointed Vice Chair Sam Palmisano, a former CEO of IBM.
"These appointees have experienced the challenges presented by today's digital economy from different perspectives," a White House official told Federal Times, confirming the appointments. "Tom Donilon, from the threats cyber presents to our national security and how it impacts our broader strategy on the global stage, and Sam Palmisano, from the challenges cybersecurity presents to American companies and their places of global leadership."
The remaining seats will be filled with former feds and industry experts named by a bi-partisan group of legislators.
The full commission — with support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology — will develop a comprehensive list of recommendations and a roadmap to get there. They are tasked with presenting the plan to the president by the end of the year.
"If fundamental cybersecurity and identity issues are not addressed, America's reliance on digital infrastructure risks becoming a source of strategic liability," the administration said Feb. 9 on announcing the new commission. "To address these issues, we must diagnose and address the causes of cyber-vulnerabilities and not just treat the symptoms."
Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
