McAfee CTO Tapped to Lead DHS Cyber Security Division

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is set to tap Phyllis Schneck, a McAfee vice president and the company’s CTO for the public sector, as the next official to head its cyber security division, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The department takes a leading role in protecting U.S. networks from foreign and domestic hackers, and Schneck would be its next deputy undersecretary of cyber security.

According to the article, “Schneck has extensive experience working with both the public and private sectors, and is the latest example of the government’s close relationship with large security companies. She’s worked 14 years in the security industry and has a Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, according to McAfee’s website. For eight years, Schneck was chairman of the national board of directors for the InfraGard program at the FBI, meant to facilitate information sharing on cyberthreats between the feds and private companies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations face an ever-growing array of disruptive events, security threats and risks. Traditional reactive approaches to security intelligence often leave businesses vulnerable and ill-prepared to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats that could impact the safety of their people, facilities or operations.

ON DEMAND: Apple Mac computer use is growing in the corporate space. Having the solutions and the knowledge base to respond to events that include Mac computers is just as important as their Windows counterparts.