By AMY HARDER
President Obama today announced his nomination of Ivan K. Fong as general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. Fong is currently chief legal officer and secretary for medical product company Cardinal Health. During his time as deputy associate attorney general under President Clinton, he wrote The Electronic Frontier: The Challenge Of Unlawful Conduct Involving The Use Of The Internet, a report on cyber crime policy.
Does this suggest that the new administration is placing more emphasis on cyber security? Perhaps. National Journal's Shane Harris examined this issue in a recent article (subscribers only). Any legal expertise would be helpful to DHS as it struggles with its own role in cyber security. The appointment could also signal that the government is aiming to articulate better what government is able to do with private networks.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano also named three members of her staff. David A. Martin, a member of Obama's DHS agency review team, will be Napolitano's principal deputy general counsel. Brian de Vallance will be the secretary's senior counselor; he was Napolitano's director of federal relations when she was Arizona governor. Sean Smith will be deputy assistant secretary for public affairs. He previously served as the Pennsylvania communications director for the Obama campaign.
Comments
To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Lost in Transition does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.