White House Names First Cybersecurity Chief

Brigadier Gen. Gregory J. Touhill's job will be to protect government networks and critical infrastructure from cyberthreats as federal chief information security officer, according to a statement. Touhill is currently a deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security.

He will begin his new role later this month. Touhill's responsibilities will include creating and implementing policy for best security practices across federal agencies and conducting periodic audits to test for weaknesses, according to the announcement.

Grant Schneider, who is the director of cybersecurity policy at the White House's National Security Council, will be acting deputy to Touhill, according to the announcement. "In his new role as Federal CISO, Greg will leverage his considerable experience in managing a range of complex and diverse technical solutions at scale with his strong knowledge of both civilian and military best practices, capabilities, and human capital training, development and retention strategies," White House cyberczar Michael Daniel and federal chief information officer Tony Scott wrote in a blog post about the new appointment, which will be housed in the Office of Management and Budget.

"Greg will lead a strong team within OMB who have been at the forefront of driving policy and implementation of leading cyberpractices across federal agencies, and is the team that conducts periodic cyberstat reviews with federal agencies to insure that implementation plans are effective and achieve the desired outcomes," Daniel said.