Obama said to tap Bush aide as federal cybersecurity chief

Melissa Hathaway, a Bush administration official who is credited with helping to develop a multi-billion-dollar classified initiative aimed at better securing federal systems and critical-infrastructure networks against online threats, is expected to be named to lead President Barack Obama 's cybersecurity efforts.

A story posted online Sunday by The Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed government sources, said that Hathaway would be appointed as a senior director at the National Security Council. The NSC advises the president on national security and foreign policy issues, including ones related to cybersecurity.

In her new role, Hathaway will initially conduct a 60-day review of ongoing federal cybersecurity programs and recommend possible changes to them, the Journal reported. The story said that her appointment could come as early as today, although an announcement had yet to be made as of 6:30 p.m. EST.

Hathaway has been working as a cyber coordination executive for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (download PDF) . She chaired a multiagency group called the National Cyber Study Group that was instrumental in developing the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative , which was approved by former President George W. Bush early last year. Since then, she has been in charge of coordinating and monitoring the CNCI's implementation.

Amit Yoran , a former director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division , said Monday that although Hathaway isn't very well known outside of Washington, she is a "known entity" within the federal cybersecurity community.

"She has been really charging and moving forward with CNCI for the past 24 months," said Yoran, who currently is CEO of NetWitness Corp., a vendor of network-traffic analysis tools in Herndon, Va. He also was a member of a commission, set up by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, that recommended major changes in the federal government's approach to cybersecurity in a report issued in December.

If the reports about her new job at the NSC are correct, Hathaway will have "pretty strong leverage" to influence policy and bring together various government entities as part of the CNCI, Yoran said. Her immediate assignment to review the work that has been done thus far as part of the initiative is a good idea, he added.

"Just because she has been managing it doesn't mean the direction she has taken shouldn't be reviewed," he said. The review is especially needed, according to Yoran, because much of the work that has gone on under the CNCI has been classified. "I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't some adjustments to the current portfolio that need to be made," he said, while noting that he also thinks "a lot of the activities that are under way" likely are aligned with national cybersecurity objectives.

Tom Kellermann, another member of the CSIS commission, also expressed satisfaction about Hathaway's reported appointment. He said that Hathaway would bring with her a keen understanding of the international nature and scope of the cybersecurity problem and the nexus that exists between cybercriminals and unfriendly governments.

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