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Obama’s Cyber Security Coordinator Is The Perfect Metaphor For CIO Impotence

Written by Evan Schuman
January 27th, 2010
Late last month, President Barrack Obama finally named his cyber coordinator, some 10 months after he declared filling the position a priority. The person who was tapped for the position comes to the job with a resume boasting jobs that include chief information security officer at eBay and chief security officer at Microsoft. But the interesting part is how this new job so closely parallels the worst parts of today's typical retail CIO gig.

The role itself is a spreadsheet of contradictions. White House jobs, especially those senior enough where the President is personally involved in the selection, are highly coveted. And yet, quite a few of the people who were approached for this particular gig rejected it. This position is supposed to get a lot of POTUS face-time. And yet, in a town known for its inflated titles (another czar anyone?), this job title is the underwhelming Cyber Coordinator. Coordinator? That's the best they could do? But there's a serious issue with this gig. Some of its applicants complained of insufficient authority. In many ways, this lack of authority problem nicely encapsulates all of the problems with IT security management today: all responsibility; no authority; not enough money; plenty of blame.

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Posted in IT Strategy/Industry, Premium Content
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