Former Cybersecurity Czar Urges Obama to Issue Executive Order to Protect Networks

Absent congressional action on cybersecurity, President Obama should strongly consider issuing an executive order to help secure American computer networks from attack, a chief architect of the White House’s cybersecurity proposals told National Journal.

Former White House cybersecurity chief Howard Schmidt, who served in both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, said that an executive order could help update government network security as well as encourage businesses to secure their own systems. “If there are things this Congress isn’t prepared to do, the president has a few options that he can move on,” he said. The call for action mirrors statements by many other former and current officials, but Schmidt takes a more tempered view that has long set him apart from many of his colleagues. Schmidt says he “has a hard time dealing with” claims that a “cyber 9/11” or “digital Pearl Harbor” could be just around the corner. “As a veteran, it somehow does a disservice to those who have served to equate physical war with cyberwar,” he said.