Podcasts Government Government Information Security Podcast Human Capital No. 1 Infosec Goal: Philip Reitinger, Deputy Undersecretary, Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate

Human Capital No. 1 Infosec Goal: Philip Reitinger, Deputy Undersecretary, Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate

Published: Dec. 9, 2009, 9:43 p.m.

b'When it comes to defending America\'s crucial IT systems, the key component are the people, says the top cybersecurity leader at the Department of Homeland Security.\\n\\n

"My top goal (for 2010), and nothing else even comes close, is to continue to add to the great core of human capital I\'ve already got," Philip Reitinger, DHS deputy undersecretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate and director of the National Cybersecurity Center, says in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com. "There are no silver-bullet solutions here; we need people, we need process, we need technology. But of those, people are by far, the most important."\\n\\n

Reitinger, in the first of a two-part interview, concedes the challenge will be tough because of a dearth of qualified information security experts, but explains steps the government is taking to eventually eliminate that skills gap. Also, Reitinger addresses:\\n\\n

The need to develop innovative, collaborative approaches, not only among federal agencies, but between the government and the private sector to meet the human resources needs to safeguard government systems.
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How much risk the government faces by not having a sufficient number of cybersecurity professionals.
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Why, even without a permanent cybersecurity coordinator, the White House is addressing the government\'s information security needs.
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In the second part of the interview, which will be posted shortly, Reitinger discusses the evolution of Einstein, the government\'s intrusion detection and prevention system as well as the right balance between incentives and regulation to get the private-sector operators of the nation\'s critical IT infrastructure to adopt best cybersecurity practices.\\n \\n

Before his appointment in March, Reitinger served as chief trustworthy infrastructure strategist at Microsoft, where he was responsible for helping improve the protection and security of the nation\'s critical IT infrastructure. This role allowed him to coordinate closely with government agencies and private partners on cybersecurity protection programs to build trustworthy computing systems worldwide.\\n\\n

Reitinger also served as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Advisory Council, where he advised the FEMA administrator on aspects of cybersecurity related to emergency management. FEMA is part of DHS. He is an expert on computer crime and policy, and previously served as the executive director of the Defense Department\'s Cybercrime Center, charged with providing electronic forensic services and supporting cyber investigative functions department-wide. Before joining DoD, Reitinger served as deputy chief of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property division at the Justice Department.\\n\\n

Reitinger holds a law degree from Yale Law School and a bachelor\'s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Vanderbilt University.'