In July, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano declared she is willing to get relieved from the job; but her replacement has not yet been nominated publicly.
According to the sources a top executive at computer security giant McAfee of Intel is a possibility to replace Janet Napolitano, as the next person to head the cyber-security division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This division is meant to protect U.S. networks from foreign and domestic hackers.
Reportedly, the job of next deputy undersecretary of cyber-security at the department may go to the current McAfee vice president and the company’s CTO for the public sector, Phyllis Schneck.
She will be entrusted with the duties of protecting U.S. networks from cyber threats. But her duties will include navigating between federal government and power struggles that have disallowed American government from doing that.
Implementation of the executive order of 2013 issued by Obama administration on cyber-security protections is a primary challenge with the DHS.
Dr. Phyllis Schneck, a Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and 14 years working experience with the security industry both in the public and private sectors is the most suitable person for the post.
For eight years, she was the chairperson of the national board of directors for the Infrared program at the FBI for eight long years. Her primary challenge is internal security and leadership mix-up in Washington.
According to Alan Paller, founder of the Sans Institute, a cyber-security research and education program, Schneck is “smart and one of the hardest workers in the field,”