The White House today released a list of names President Barack Obama will appoint to his new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The panel, established this year as part of Obama's $19 billion proposal to tighten defenses against hacking threats, seeks to tap industry experts outside the government for cybersecurity recommendations for both the public and private sectors.
Among the names included are: General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency from 2005 to 2014; Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan; MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga; and Peter Lee, corporate vice president for Microsoft Research. "I have charged the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity with the critically-important task of identifying the steps that our nation must take to ensure our cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world," Obama said in a statement. "These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to this important role, and I look forward to receiving the Commission's recommendations."
Obama names Uber, Microsoft, and MasterCard executives to the panel
The selection process is conducted by both Obama and congressional leaders, and the other appointees include high-level members of academia and legal, security, and finance experts from the private sector. The entire budget proposal, totaling $4 trillion, is for the 2017 fiscal year starting October 1st. The Obama Administration has said in the past that the $19 billion for cybersecurity, a 35 percent bump in spending, should garner bipartisan support considering it was prompted in part by a massive breach of the government's personnel office last year. The hackers in that attack are thought to have ties to the Chinese government.