Cybersecurity czar's first task: reboot policy

Mr. Schmidt, who will be a member of the National Security Staff, also served as President George W. Bush’s cyberadviser. He was part of a team that helped formulate national cybersecurity policy that experts and the Obama administration say is outdated and in dire need of an overhaul to keep pace with the current threat. The Washington Post reports that Schmidt left the Bush White House because he was "frustrated" that cybersecurity wasn’t being given enough attention.

In crafting a new direction, the Obama administration has called for greater partnerships with the international community as well the private sector to bolster cybersecurity.

Experts have called for more incentives for private industry to increase safeguards of their data and to regularly report incursions into their systems so that federal agencies can track hacker attacks. There's also a need for personal Internet users to be more security conscious, they say, so that their computers do not become infected with viruses that can quickly spread through the Internet.

Delay in finding 'czar'

Many experts were surprised it took seven months since the president’s policy review to appoint a coordinator. Melissa Hathaway, who served as the acting senior director for cyberspace on the National Security Council, reportedly resigned over the delay. Forbes reported in July that as many as three candidates turned down the job.

“[A]t least three people were informally offered the cyber czar post and turned it down, including former Virginia Sen. Tom Davis, Microsoft security executive Scott Charney and Good Harbor Consulting Executive Paul Kurtz,” Forbes reported, after speaking to officials. One reason the czarship has remained unfilled may be that the position has taken a back seat to the economy, the magazine said.

Despite the delay, Mr. Lewis, the cybersecurity expert, says Schmidt has the credentials the White House was looking for – a broad range of both private industry and government experience. (Click here to read more about his background).

Lewis expects him to make working with private sector on new security solutions a priority. “That’s one thing Howard is really good at. He’s a great evangelist. I think we’ll get a lot nudging.”

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