Obama pledges to appoint a national cyber advisor – does IT need more senior representation in Australia?
As reported in NextGov, Barack Obama, the Democratic Presidential candidate, has pledged to appoint a direct report focusing on online security.
“As president, I’ll make cybersecurity the top priority that it should be in the 21st century,” Obama said during a summit on national security at Purdue University. “I’ll declare our cyber-infrastructure a strategic asset, and
appoint a national cyber adviser, who will report directly to me. We’ll
coordinate efforts across the federal government, implement a truly national
cybersecurity policy and tighten standards to secure information — from the
networks that power the federal government to the networks that you use in your
personal lives.”
Today most of the money supply and trading in the finance sector, our telecommunications and entertainment industries, a significant proportion of our retail activity and a number of government initiatives are focused on, or reliant on, the use of robust and secure broadband and online services.
I wonder when a similar approach to Obama’s proposal will be adopted in Australia?
Ugh.. cyber… can we stop calling it that?
Some informed leadership would be most welcome. After Alston, Coonan, and now unfortunately Conroy showing such little understanding of the online environment it’d be a pleasant change to have someone around who gets it.
I’m excited to see what happens to Obama’s online supporters, though, once the election is over (assuming he wins). A step closer to direct democracy?