Network Security

Report: McAfee CTO to be named next DHS deputy cyber undersecretary

Phyllis Schneck, vice president and global CTO of the public sector at security firm McAfee, has been tapped to become the next deputy undersecretary of cyber security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to a report Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.

Schneck also is chairman emeritus of the InfraGard National Members Alliance and chairwoman of the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance.

She would fill the role vacated by Mark Weatherford, the former CISO at NERC and the states of California and Colorado, who left DHS in the spring to join The Chertoff Group consultancy. Weatherford was appointed at DHS in 2011 to the newly created deputy undersecretary for cyber security slot.

Since Weatherford resigned, Bruce McConnell was serving in the position on an interim basis, but he left in July.

If Schneck does get the nod, her patience may be tested.

Weatherford said Friday during an address at the DefCon hacker conference in Las Vegas that he became dissatisfied by the government's inability to effectively share cyber threat intelligence information with the private sector.

"I'm a terrible government employee," he admitted. "There's too many restrictions."

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