hargrand writes "President Obama has found the cyber tsar to head his new White House office of cybersecurity.
According to US press reports this morning, an announcement expected later today will confirm Melissa Hathaway is to come in as cyber chief, after being cyber coordination executive for the director of national intelligence."
Judging by this picture of her, [imageshack.us] she's got the figure for it, but I've no idea if she's interested in dressing that way. Enquiring minds want to know!
yea... that's not her. that's Faith Hill [exposay.com]. why the hell would the chairwoman of the National Cyber Study Group be in a publicity photo with Tim McGraw?
You may or may not be right. The wiki article you linked doesn't make clear if tsaritsa means only tsar's wife or a ruler on its own.
The article actually says in the first sentence that it can mean both. It doesn't come up as much, though, because most of the famous female rulers of Russia were in the 18th century, when the official titles were Emperor/Empress (though Tsar kinda stuck around in foreign translations).
Why do we keep using a term that means, essentially, monarch or "supreme ruler"? Last I checked, these people aren't even members of the cabinet.
They're mid-level federal pencil-pushers, at best- and the only reason she got the job was because she was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton [wikipedia.org], which is basically a government consulting group (aka glorified money sinkhole.)
If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is.
No, they can't. If I have to deal with one more idiot (in Starbucks or otherwise) who doesn't know how to foam milk properly, I'm going to get arrested.
There is no way anyone working for Starbucks is a 'barista [wikipedia.org]' or "one who has acquired some level of expertise in the preparation of espresso-based coffee drinks" much less a "a professional who is highly skilled in coffee preparation with a comprehensive understanding of coffee". They just misappropriated the word. Yeah, yeah, I know, off-topic.
I think it's less trolling, and just a reasonable expectation taking into account past history (from the past 3 weeks) that she will either a) have a Tax issue or b) have lobbying (or lobby-like) ties to the industry she will be regulating. As Cyber-Security Czar is unlikely to regulate an industry, that leaves us with a).
I think it's less trolling, and just a reasonable expectation taking into account past history (from the past 3 weeks) that she will either a) have a Tax issue or b) have lobbying (or lobby-like) ties to the industry she will be regulating. As Cyber-Security Czar is unlikely to regulate an industry, that leaves us with a).
Of the more than eight thousand appointments to government positions that Obama has made, a grand total of somewhere around fifteen to twenty have approached or passed the no lobbyist line he drew and two or three had tax issues*. So do enlighten me as to where making the strictest promise to fight lobbyist influence in history and then keeping it 99.75% (with another.2% not technically falling afoul) made the near-discontinuous jump into the idea that he's intentionally appointing foxes to guard henhouses the same way Bush did?
* Though I do find it most out of character that "no-drama Obama" missed that shit
No, I was groaning all through the summary. The term utterly lacks dignity, in my opinion. It is hard to imagine a "Cyber-Czar" doing anything worthwhile. "Cyber-" invariably summons up images of bad 90's movies (though I never saw Lawnmower Man), and William Gibson's earlier novels, the technology in which seems even more quaint and anachronistic today. Creating an office of Cybersecurity just makes Obama seem foolish and out of touch (even if the system of nomenclature originated elsewhere, he's the p
I hate the use of tsar it refered to rulers originally ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar ) and now it's used more like executive or manager for these new departments in government.... why don't we have the King of Homeland Security or the Emperor of Central Intelligence or is there a Dictator of Finance? Geez people!!!
Oh I got it Cyber-lord of Internet Content Purification and Control.... perfect!
Well, cybernetics came into widespread use meaning the study of feedback and control systems.
Computers obviously have considerable applications to many modern control applications. However, it was premature in the 80's and 90's to refer to anything computer related as "cyber-". The case may somewhat different today, particularly in regard to security.
A system's property of "security" is not inherent in the security of its parts, it is not in any way shape or form the sum of the security of its parts.
If she can somehow become the poster girl for geeky women and bring more of those into our line of work to lighten up the workplace, that'll be awesome. Now that's progress my friends.
If she can somehow become the poster girl for geeky women and bring more of those into our line of work to lighten up the workplace, that'll be awesome. Now that's progress my friends.
If she can somehow become the poster girl for geeky women and bring more of those into our line of work to lighten up the workplace, that'll be awesome. Now that's progress my friends.
If she can be judged on her achievements without mentioning her gender, that'll be real progress.
The US government appointing delegates with huge powers to regulate and oversee entire swaths of industry with very little personal accountability (heaven forbid!), and the irony in calling them tsars.
Well when the "Land of the Free" finally stops being free, you won't be able to argue that you didn't see it coming.
Come on - a woman as head of cybersecurity? This is like trolling the entire male IT world. If there's any single woman who's computer is going to be the focus of internet attacks - it's going to be hers.:-)
It's not that I have anything with women in positions of authority, but this is different - I think Obama is underestimating the collective power of the patriarchal IT industry.
Rule 34 if she looks anything like that actress named Anne.
Gurlz iz rare in IT. The work/life balance sucks hard. I hope she knows that.
Yes, because obviously being female and having only made it to a senior position appointed by the most powerful man in the world, she must be a clueless newbie in need of advice on work-life balance from Slashdot...
How about posting questions straight to slashdot, you might just get some true, no kiss-ass, answers for once from people who aren't trying to make points and kissing up to ambitions.
Of course, the advice from Slashdot would be completely neutral and have no bias at all... except where anything to do with software or databases was concerned, but I can't imagine how this role would be affected by that sort of contraint!
Of course it could be that. I just think it's sad how many people around here seem to be assuming that it is that, just because this particular high-ranking official is female. I hope it's just a young male insecurity thing amplified by the profile of Slashdot posters, and not a reflection of how sexist society as a whole still remains.
Here's her bio, from the announcement for an event, 'Cyber Security Breakfast with Melissa Hathaway' held last month.
Melissa E. Hathaway is Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Cyber Coordination Executive. She chairs the National Cyber Study Group (NCSG), a senior-level interagency body that was instrumental in developing the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) aimed at substantially improving the ability of the United States to secure and defend its critical cyber national infrastructure. In January 2008, Ms. Hathaway was appointed the Director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force (JIACTF), which coordinates and monitors the implementation of the broad portfolio of activities and programs that comprise the CNCI. In discussions at the highest levels of the U.S. Government, Ms. Hathaway has articulated a holistic, integrated vision to bridge offensive and defensive missions and capabilities to provide a full situational awareness of the Federal network environment and the global cyberspace environment. Her management of the CNCI ensures that this vision takes into account all of the U.S. Government mission areas, including law enforcement, intelligence, military, diplomatic, and homeland security.
Prior to her appointment as Senior Advisor, Ms. Hathaway was a Principal with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where her responsibilities focused on leading two primary business units: information operations and long range strategy and policy support. Her consulting efforts supported key offices within the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, including United States Strategic Command, United States Pacific Command, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Her work included the design and development of novel techniques for mapping social, business process, and infrastructure relationships. She also led the design and development of a methodology for evaluating new force options across the electromagnetic spectrum. Some of the more significant long range strategy and policy studies on which Ms. Hathaway worked focused on biotechnology, power projection, Asia, and other national security issues.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Hathaway was employed with the consulting firm Evidence Based Research, where she performed research and developed databases to track economic and political issues in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, developed a model to detect the routes and modes and to estimate the quantities of cocaine movement into the United States, and studied other key issues in support of the Intelligence Community.
Ms. Hathaway has a B.A. degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. She has completed graduate studies in international economics and technology transfer policy, and is a graduate of the US Armed Forces Staff College, with a special certificate in Information Operations.
Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Informative)
President Obama has found the cyber tsar ...
Uh, shouldn't that be tsaritsa [wikipedia.org]?
Or is there something you know about Melissa that we don't?
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:4, Funny)
Or is there something you know about Melissa that we don't?
Her parents were stranded on a tropical island you insensitive clod.
Parent
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Funny)
She'll need to wear spiked heeled boots and a leather corset.
I think I have issues.
Parent
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Funny)
Neither. Cyber-Dominatrix.
She'll need to wear spiked heeled boots and a leather corset.
I think I have issues.
Mod -1 Creepy?
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Funny)
"I think I have issues."
If she's hawt you do not have issues.
If she looks like Janet Reno you have issues.
If she looks like Janet Reno and dresses per your description, post pics because you are not alone.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You may or may not be right. The wiki article you linked doesn't make clear if tsaritsa means only tsar's wife or a ruler on its own.
E.g. due to this distinction in Poland they crowned female ruler as king: Hedwig Rex Poloniae not Hedwig Regina Poloniae.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The article actually says in the first sentence that it can mean both. It doesn't come up as much, though, because most of the famous female rulers of Russia were in the 18th century, when the official titles were Emperor/Empress (though Tsar kinda stuck around in foreign translations).
why are we using the term in a democracy? (Score:5, Informative)
They're mid-level federal pencil-pushers, at best- and the only reason she got the job was because she was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton [wikipedia.org], which is basically a government consulting group (aka glorified money sinkhole.)
If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Does she run Linux?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:5, Informative)
FYI, "won't never" = "will, on at least one occasion", whereas "never won't" = "will always".
Parent
Re:Tsar or Tsaritsa? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
There is no way anyone working for Starbucks is a 'barista [wikipedia.org]' or "one who has acquired some level of expertise in the preparation of espresso-based coffee drinks" much less a "a professional who is highly skilled in coffee preparation with a comprehensive understanding of coffee". They just misappropriated the word. Yeah, yeah, I know, off-topic.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Well, it's a good bet... (Score:4, Funny)
I think it's less trolling, and just a reasonable expectation taking into account past history (from the past 3 weeks) that she will either a) have a Tax issue or b) have lobbying (or lobby-like) ties to the industry she will be regulating. As Cyber-Security Czar is unlikely to regulate an industry, that leaves us with a).
Or c) runs a botnet.
Just sayin'...
Strat
Parent
Re:Well, it's a good bet... (Score:4, Insightful)
* Though I do find it most out of character that "no-drama Obama" missed that shit
Parent
Is she related? (Score:5, Funny)
If she's related to Ann Hathaway, she's got my support..
Re: (Score:2)
Melissa? Is that you? (Score:4, Funny)
Melissa... Melissa... Cyber security... Now, where exactly [wikipedia.org] did I hear that name?
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Can't keep 'em straight (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Headline should be... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Uh oh... Beveryly Hillbillies flashback! (Score:4, Funny)
"Miss Hathaway, can you come into my office for a moment...?"
CYBER (Score:5, Interesting)
Am I the only one who *hates* the word cyber?
Is it a generational thing? Does it have something to do with Lawnmower Man?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Using Windows is like walking through Middle-earth. There's a freaking wizard lurking around every corner.
and most of them are up to no good...
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
No, I was groaning all through the summary. The term utterly lacks dignity, in my opinion. It is hard to imagine a "Cyber-Czar" doing anything worthwhile. "Cyber-" invariably summons up images of bad 90's movies (though I never saw Lawnmower Man), and William Gibson's earlier novels, the technology in which seems even more quaint and anachronistic today. Creating an office of Cybersecurity just makes Obama seem foolish and out of touch (even if the system of nomenclature originated elsewhere, he's the p
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Cybersecurity is a military term. All military terms are honky, it's the style.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Is it a generational thing? Does it have something to do with Lawnmower Man?
There are a lot of issues that have to do with Lawnmower Man.
Fear of the word "cyber" is just one. :P
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I hate the use of tsar it refered to rulers originally ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar ) and now it's used more like executive or manager for these new departments in government.... why don't we have the King of Homeland Security or the Emperor of Central Intelligence or is there a Dictator of Finance? Geez people!!!
Oh I got it Cyber-lord of Internet Content Purification and Control.... perfect!
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, cybernetics came into widespread use meaning the study of feedback and control systems.
Computers obviously have considerable applications to many modern control applications. However, it was premature in the 80's and 90's to refer to anything computer related as "cyber-". The case may somewhat different today, particularly in regard to security.
A system's property of "security" is not inherent in the security of its parts, it is not in any way shape or form the sum of the security of its parts.
Change (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If she can somehow become the poster girl for geeky women and bring more of those into our line of work to lighten up the workplace, that'll be awesome. Now that's progress my friends.
We'd have to start wearing pants ;-(
Re:Change (Score:5, Insightful)
If she can somehow become the poster girl for geeky women and bring more of those into our line of work to lighten up the workplace, that'll be awesome. Now that's progress my friends.
If she can be judged on her achievements without mentioning her gender, that'll be real progress.
Parent
I would have gone with... (Score:5, Interesting)
This woman helped politic the CNCI into existence.
This editorial says more about the uselessness of that than I ever could:
http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2008/07/21/805/ [duvet-dayz.com]
One of Obama's weakest appointments, and yes - I voted for him.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you have any idea how many people he's appointed within the past few weeks?
Say what you will about GWB
Ok. He was a fucking moron who couldn't have done more damage to our country if he was a paid subversive.
Obama already shatter his record in the most unsavory manor.
Too bad spell checkers can't catch stupid.
I think that's so funny (Score:5, Insightful)
The US government appointing delegates with huge powers to regulate and oversee entire swaths of industry with very little personal accountability (heaven forbid!), and the irony in calling them tsars.
Well when the "Land of the Free" finally stops being free, you won't be able to argue that you didn't see it coming.
ha good choice (Score:2, Interesting)
Come on - a woman as head of cybersecurity? This is like trolling the entire male IT world. If there's any single woman who's computer is going to be the focus of internet attacks - it's going to be hers. :-)
It's not that I have anything with women in positions of authority, but this is different - I think Obama is underestimating the collective power of the patriarchal IT industry.
Rule 34 if she looks anything like that actress named Anne.
every many and woman is a tsar (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What did he do? AFAIK, 'tsar' and 'czar' are different spellings of the same word.
Re: (Score:2)
I asked the Spanish sergeant to seize her and he said "Si, sir.'
Re:What's the difference between a "cybersecurity. (Score:5, Insightful)
Gurlz iz rare in IT. The work/life balance sucks hard. I hope she knows that.
Yes, because obviously being female and having only made it to a senior position appointed by the most powerful man in the world, she must be a clueless newbie in need of advice on work-life balance from Slashdot...
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How about posting questions straight to slashdot, you might just get some true, no kiss-ass, answers for once from people who aren't trying to make points and kissing up to ambitions.
Of course, the advice from Slashdot would be completely neutral and have no bias at all... except where anything to do with software or databases was concerned, but I can't imagine how this role would be affected by that sort of contraint!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course it could be that. I just think it's sad how many people around here seem to be assuming that it is that, just because this particular high-ranking official is female. I hope it's just a young male insecurity thing amplified by the profile of Slashdot posters, and not a reflection of how sexist society as a whole still remains.
No picture, but more details (Score:5, Informative)
Here's her bio, from the announcement for an event, 'Cyber Security Breakfast with Melissa Hathaway' held last month.
Melissa E. Hathaway is Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Cyber Coordination Executive. She chairs the National Cyber Study Group (NCSG), a senior-level interagency body that was instrumental in developing the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) aimed at substantially improving the ability of the United States to secure and defend its critical cyber national infrastructure. In January 2008, Ms. Hathaway was appointed the Director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force (JIACTF), which coordinates and monitors the implementation of the broad portfolio of activities and programs that comprise the CNCI. In discussions at the highest levels of the U.S. Government, Ms. Hathaway has articulated a holistic, integrated vision to bridge offensive and defensive missions and capabilities to provide a full situational awareness of the Federal network environment and the global cyberspace environment. Her management of the CNCI ensures that this vision takes into account all of the U.S. Government mission areas, including law enforcement, intelligence, military, diplomatic, and homeland security.
Prior to her appointment as Senior Advisor, Ms. Hathaway was a Principal with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where her responsibilities focused on leading two primary business units: information operations and long range strategy and policy support. Her consulting efforts supported key offices within the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, including United States Strategic Command, United States Pacific Command, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Her work included the design and development of novel techniques for mapping social, business process, and infrastructure relationships. She also led the design and development of a methodology for evaluating new force options across the electromagnetic spectrum. Some of the more significant long range strategy and policy studies on which Ms. Hathaway worked focused on biotechnology, power projection, Asia, and other national security issues.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Hathaway was employed with the consulting firm Evidence Based Research, where she performed research and developed databases to track economic and political issues in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, developed a model to detect the routes and modes and to estimate the quantities of cocaine movement into the United States, and studied other key issues in support of the Intelligence Community.
Ms. Hathaway has a B.A. degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. She has completed graduate studies in international economics and technology transfer policy, and is a graduate of the US Armed Forces Staff College, with a special certificate in Information Operations.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
No, DSL....