Cisco joins growing laundry list of entities paying Melissa Hathaway to be senior security advisor

Former Bush and Obama administration cybersecurity advisor, Melissa Hathaway, appears to be cashing in.

Tomorrow at 2:00 PM Pacific Time, Cisco will officially announce paying Melissa Hathaway (best known for authoring the Obama White House treatise - Cyberspace Policy Review), to be a senior adviser to its security team.

Hathaway appears to be cashing in on her government contacts.

View the growing laundry list of entities paying Hathaway to be a senior security advisor:

1. Cisco Systems

"Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) will host a live Cisco TV broadcast and Q&A session to introduce Melissa Hathaway, previously acting senior director for Cyberspace within the National Security Council for President Barack Obama's administration, as senior adviser to the Company's security team."

2. ManTech International Corporation

"Melissa Hathaway, President of Hathaway Global Strategies, LLC and former Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National and Homeland Security Councils, and former Senior Advisor and Cyber Coordination Executive for the Director of National Intelligence, has joined ManTech's Cyber Council to provide strategic guidance on Cybersecurity issues affecting national security."

3. Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"Melissa Hathaway, former acting senior director for cyberspace at the National Security Council, has joined Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as a senior advisor to its cyber security initiative."

Interestingly, last August at the time of Hathaway's resignation as the Obama administration's acting cybersecurity czar, The Wall Street Journal reported:

"In the past year, intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned about Chinese and Russian cyberspies surveilling U.S. infrastructure and military networks."

I find myself asking if the hiring of Melissa Hathaway by Cisco is nothing more than mere window dressing?

And why do I ask that?

Well, because it was only last week that Cisco CEO John Chambers was quoted by Reuters giving his take on the cyberattacks on Google that appear to have originated in China:

"I think that there will be natural give and take between technology and countries, a natural give and take between countries. I'm very much the optimist that the issues will be worked out regardless of differences. I have been doing business in China for 25 years, I have a lot of confidence in the Chinese leadership and I have a lot of confidence in the Internet, and I have a lot of confidence in the American leadership."

What's your take, is it possible that Cisco's hiring of Melissa Hathaway as its senior security advisor is nothing more than mere window dressing?

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• Cisco
• LANs / WANs
• Security
• Hathaway's resignation as the Obama administration's acting cybersecurity czar
• Hiring of Melissa Hathaway by Cisco is nothing more than mere window dressing
• Melissa Hathaway (best known for authoring the Obama White House treatise - Cyberspace Policy Review)