Obama Cyberczar Resigns

Melissa Hathaway

Melissa Hathaway has stepped down from her position of Cyberczar in the Obama administration Monday, reportedly over growing frustration at her being marginalized by the president’s economic advisers.

“It’s time to pass the torch,” Hathaway said in an interview, adding that she and her colleagues have provided an “initial down payment for what’s needed to start to address cybersecurity.”

Hathaway had successfully completed an interview for the position only this past April. A a senior intelligence official and holdover from the Bush administration, Hathaway launched President George W. Bush’s cybersecurity initiative. She reportedly told Obama economic advisers they consider options for regulating some private-sector entities to ensure they secure their networks.

White House bungling over a policy review Hathaway wrote led to her position becoming responsible to both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council. While some argued the new definition indicated cybersecurity as both an economic and national security issue, others said it bogged the post down in bureaucratic red tape.

Obama has made cyber security an important priority for his administration, noting mounting Russian and Chinese spying on American military and commercial networks. The US and North Korea reportedly engaged in a cyberwar for several weeks starting July 4th.

Frontrunners for the post include a former Clinton assistant defense secretary, Franklin Kramer, and Howard Schmidt, a former top security officer at eBay Inc. who has served on several presidential cybersecurity panels.

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