June 06, 2009, 1:30 PM — President Obama outlined his cyberspace security strategy last week and released a very far-reaching document. At the same time, the President also announced that there will be a new cybersecurity coordinator position at the White House who will be in charge of a "national strategy" for securing cyberspace.
Beyond the specifics, what's important about this is that it brings security, both on a national and on a corporate level, to the forefront. This isn't going to just be another Federal program--the private sector will be involved as well, with public/private partnerships around cybersecurity, and a new focus on security research and development.
The response has been generally positive but mixed on some levels--but one thing's for sure, it's going to be a good time to be looking for a career in the IT security business, regardless of whether you're in the public or private sector. Career-seekers looking to take advantage of this new momentum in IT security will also want to bone up on compliance issues. There's been nothing said about specific, additional regulations, but it wouldn't be surprising to see another acronym to go along with HIPAA, SOX, and all the others. Existing security companies will likely get some sort of boost in the long run as a result of this cybersecurity strategy, at least indirectly.
