Experts: Cyber czar's authority must be resolved

The biggest question hanging over the White House cybersecurity coordinator position is whether that individual will have the authority to marshal disparate agency efforts to safeguard information technology networks, tech insiders said today.

Neither President Obama's Friday remarks nor a report summarizing a 60-day review of the federal cybersecurity posture provided enough detail to gauge whether the cyber czar will have the president's ear and the power to drive change across government, said the experts, speaking at a briefing hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee.

"This is not necessarily going to turn out well," warned Stewart Baker, a Washington attorney who served as Homeland Security Department assistant secretary for policy under former President George W. Bush. "Every agency has its own IT budget and wants to do things [its] own way."

In addition to consulting and coordinating with a handful of agencies, the individual will have a relationship with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The cyber coordinator, whom Obama said will wear hats within the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, should hold the rank of deputy assistant to the president at minimum, said James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "If you put someone in place who does not have the authority or ability to carry the mission out, having a good plan doesn't do that much," he said.

Lewis pointed out Bush had a cybersecurity staffer under his national security adviser and a similar official within NSC who spoke frequently but lacked influence. "Informal, ad hoc arrangements are no longer enough," he said.

Regardless of who becomes cyber czar, Lewis stressed that the candidate should not be a Silicon Valley "rock star" or dot-com era guru.