[x-pubpol] Could turnover in the White House change President Obama’s promise to veto Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act?

[Sally Wentworth]

And an "interesting" replacement for Mr Schmidt. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/white-house-taps-budget-official-to-replace-howard-schmidt-as-presidents-cybersecurity-chief/2012/05/17/gIQAJ9TPWU_story.html

WASHINGTON — The White House has selected the head of the intelligence branch in its budget office to be President Barack Obama’s top adviser on cybersecurity issues, a move that comes as Congress and the Obama administration are at odds over how best to protect critical U.S. industries from crippling electronic attacks by cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists.

Michael Daniel, a 17-year veteran of the Office of Management and Budget’s national security division, will replace Howard Schmidt as Obama’s cybersecurity coordinator, the White House announced Thursday. Schmidt, who was appointed by Obama in December 2009, is retiring and returning to private life, according to the announcement. Before his White House appointment, Schmidt had worked as chief information security officer at eBay and chief security officer at Microsoft.

As the budget office’s intelligence chief, Daniel has overseen classified programs being run by U.S. spy agencies and the Defense Department. He has also coordinated the budgets for the government’s cybersecurity programs.

Daniel’s new job puts him squarely in the middle of a contentious debate between the White House and congressional Republicans over legislation that would permit the government and the private sector to exchange information about threats in cyberspace. The White House supports the creation of an information-sharing system, but threatened to veto a bill passed last month by the GOP-led House because it said the measure failed to protect the privacy rights of Americans.

The White House is also demanding that any bill Congress passes to include provisions that require the companies that operate electric power plants, water supply, banking systems and more to meet basic security standards so their computer networks are protected from cyberattacks. But Republicans are opposed to new government regulations on businesses. They say the private sector knows best how to guard its computers.



Sally Wentworth
Internet Society 
+1 703 439 2146
wentworth at isoc.org
www.isoc.org

On May 17, 2012, at 2:15 PM, Joly MacFie wrote:

> (Via David Solomonoff)
> 
> White House cybersecurity advisor abruptly retires
> 
> http://www.dailydot.com/politics/howard-schmidt-retire-obama-cispa/ 
> 
> Could turnover in the White House change President Obama’s promise to veto Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act?
> 
> A man who seems to have been a major force in President Obama’s stance against the CISPA has suddenly retired.
> 
> Howard A. Schmidt, White House’s cybersecurity coordinator, announced his decision Thursday.
> 
> 
> President Obama’s advisors have a mostly strong track record when it comes to echoing Internet activists’ concerns. When a White House petition against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) reached 50,000 signatures, it was Schmidt, on Obama’s behalf, who helped author astatement against those bills.
> 
> Obama also has released two major statements in favor of Internet rights: one an outright promise to veto the controversial CISPA, and a so-called Internet Privacy Bill of Rights that’s currently before the senate.
> 
> Although neither of those documents have named signatories, it’s fair to assume Schmidt had a hand in them—particularly the threat to veto CISPA. In its conclusion, that statement said, “[Obama’s] senior advisers would recommend he veto the bill.”
> 
> Schmidt appeared to have a particular vendetta against CISPA. The former head of security for both Microsoft and eBay, Schmidt had long championed a need for the government to assist private corporations that faced cyber attacks—precisely what CISPA is designed to address.
> 
> Nevertheless, Schmidt openly condemned CISPA on TV, citing the same reasons most Internetactivist groups did—claims that it didn’t do enough to guarantee the privacy rights of American citizens.
> 
> The White House didn’t return an immediate request for comment about whether Schmidt’s departure would affect its stance on CISPA or any of the other cybersecurity bills pending in Congress.
> 
> Schmidt will be succeeded at the end of May by Michael Daniel from the Office of Management and Budget, who reportedly has years of cybersecurity experience.
> 
> Schmidt has released a broad statement about his new position: "The challenges in this area are real and serious, but I have the benefit of building on the progress Howard has made through his leadership.”
> 
> However, he’s yet to comment on specific legislation.
> 
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