Finally a National Cyber Office?
In what amounts to an “about time” move, the US House of Representative’s Oversight and Government Reform Government Management Subcommittee has reported a bill that mandates creation of a national office for cyberspace within the White House.
The purpose of the proposed office is to oversee government-wide efforts to protect computer systems from terrorist attacks and other threats.
Under the proposed legislation, the office would have a Senate-confirmed director and include a panel of government information technology experts tasked with guiding government programs to tighten their computer security systems.
In effect, the bill institutionalizes the White House Office of Cyber-Security Coordinator created by President Obama by executive order in 2009. In addition, the bill directs agencies to develop automatic systems that would continuously monitoring their computer networks for deficiencies and risks instead of the current requirement of filing annual reports demonstrating compliance with federal standards.