Security exodus continues
The upcoming change in presidential administrations will bring many personnel changes in government, but the security side is beginning to see a drain that many did not expect, as nonpolitical appointees take privatesector jobs.
The upcoming change in presidential administrations will bring many personnel
changes in government, but the security side is beginning to see a drain
that many did not expect, as nonpolitical appointees take private-sector
jobs.
Tom Burke, associate commissioner for information security at the General
Services Administration's Federal Technology Service, last week announced
he is retiring from government on Sept. 1 to take a job in Computer Sciences
Corp.'s civilian information security group.
Burke's announcement comes just a month after Richard Guida, chairman
of the Federal Public Key Infrastructure Steering Committee, announced he
is leaving government after 28 years for the private sector at the end of
the year.
Both have been leaders in developing security policies, practices and
technologies at federal civilian agencies. At GSA, Burke, a 23-year government
veteran, has served as the lead for civilian agencies under President Clinton's
National Plan for Information Systems Protection. He has also overseen the
Federal Computer Incident Response Capability office. Through the steering
committee, Guida has been the advocate for PKI implementation across government.
There remains an assortment of federal security experts, but Burke and
Guida's work focused on the entire government, not just a single agency.
Because both were civil servants, their departures had not been anticipated,
and their leadership will be missed, officials said.
"It's a loss, and unlike the political types who you expect to leave,
when you lose people like that, you feel the difference," said John Tritak,
director of the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office.
Guida and Burke said they felt it was time to look at other options
after spending their whole careers in government service. "The time was
right, and I wanted to try something different," Burke said.
No decision on replacements for either of them has been announced.
NEXT STORY: Dot-coms nervous about FirstGov