TechAmerica urges Obama to name cyber security boss

Obama said in May that he would appoint a government co-ordinator for online security

The largest technology trade organisation in the US has written to president Obama urging the quick appointment of a government cyber security co-ordinator.

TechAmerica said in the open letter (PDF) that it has been five months since Obama's speech in May when he announced that he would appoint a government co-ordinator for online security as part of his national IT security plan.

"The urgency for progress in cyber security remains, and so does the need for the appointment of a qualified, credible, senior-level official to the cyber security co-ordinator post," wrote Phillip J. Bond, president of TechAmerica.

The proposed role would involve matching the security of the US critical infrastructure, around 80 per cent of which is run by private companies, implementing new standards, and co-ordinating with security organisations around the world.

While the Obama administration has approved spending on IT security, and backed the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign in October, the letter is a clear indication of unrest in the technology industry at the delay.

"We observe that those that would seek to harm America by exploiting our digital infrastructure continue to increase their efforts," said the letter.

"That is why we believe that establishing cyber security co-ordination at this point will have a galvanising effect that would boost and focus the many federal efforts to combat cyber threats."

TechAmerica represents over 1,500 of the biggest technology companies in the US, and claims to be the largest technology advocacy group in the country. It has been mostly supportive of Obama, and the open letter is unusual.

The letter singled out Christopher Painter, deputy chief of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice, for particular praise in the work done so far.