The appointment of Mark Weatherford to a lead cybersecurity role in the Homeland Security Department is part of a trend that is transforming federal IT security from a paperwork exercise to effective defense of government systems, says long-time observer Alan Paller.
Weatherford, who became DHS’ first deputy undersecretary for cyber security on Nov. 21, is the first technologist with hands-on cybersecurity experience in government and the private sector in a DHS cybersecurity post, said Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute.
“Mark has been very good at hiring technology people in other jobs, and I think he’ll be able to do it here,” he said. “I believe that this is the first day of the rest of life at DHS.”
The appointment comes as DHS’ role in enforcing the Federal Information Security Management Act is being clarified and strengthened, and FISMA is shifting from a periodic assessment and certification of information systems to a continuous monitoring of security status.
via Government Computer News, continued here.
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Fedcybercom/~3/n_ALLvGGiPI/