VA names new info security czar

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson told lawmakers last week that he intended to hire an information security czar quickly, and yesterday he delivered on that promise.

Nicholson named Richard Romley, former attorney of Maricopa County, Ariz., as his new special adviser for information security. Romley will help the VA reform its information security policies and procedures in the wake of the theft of a database containing sensitive personal information on 26.5 million veterans, Nicholson said.

Romley is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and received the Purple Heart for combat wounds. He served four elected terms as the Maricopa County attorney from 1989 through 2004.