Ex-White House security adviser to head up ISF

Former White House IT security advisor Howard Schmidt has been appointed as the first president of the not-for-profit Information Security Forum (ISF).

The ISF is an international association of around 300 of the world's largest public and private sector organisations, which was set up to conduct business-oriented security research and develop best-practice methodologies, processes and tools.

"I will strive to help raise greater awareness of the information security challenges faced today – from the increase in cybercrime to the growing burden of compliance," said Schmidt in a statement. "Companies need to adopt a risk management perspective and recognise that information security is business driven and not crisis driven."

Howard Schmidt has held numerous high profile roles in the security sphere since moving on from his US government advisory role, including chief security strategist at eBay and chief security officer at Microsoft.