White House Names First Federal CISO

Brigadier General (retired) Gregory J. Touhill, who most recently has served as deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, has been named as the US government's first-ever chief information security officer (CISO).

According to the White House, the new CISO position--the creation of which was first announced earlier this year--is part of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, a government initiative to raise the nation’s cybersecurity level and strengthen it.

In addition to announcing Touhill as CISO, Grant Schneider has been appointed acting Deputy CISO. Schneider is presently director for Cybersecurity Policy on the National Security Council staff.

The role of the Federal CISO, says the White House, will be to ensure effective implementation of cyber strategies and practices across federal agencies.

For details, check out the press release.