They’re called the Influencers — the top leaders in government cybersecurity and IT, selected by cyber site GovInfoSecurity.
The site, which polled its advisory board and other IT thought leaders, said a true influencer is born from “a combination of position and know-how,†and each of those selected “has demonstrated the ability to lead and collaborate, characteristics of individuals who have a proven history on getting things done.â€
The list is the second annual roster of government IT leaders. Last year’s list contained high-profile names such as President Barack Obama, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt, and GovInfoSecurity says those “luminaries†will still play important roles in 2011.
As for the new list, the website says there are more state IT leaders and those with lower profiles on the list, but they still have “enormous sway in the government cybersecurity community.â€
Christoper Ipsen, Nevada’s chief information security officer, was one of the state-level cyber pros recognized for his “transformational model†of IT security.
Marianne Swanson, NIST’s senior adviser for IT security management, has been a “force†for IT security, authoring numerous studies on risk and being awarded by the Commerce Department for her efforts.
Colleagues in the Senate will likely turn to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas Carper (D-Del.) to lead the pack in terms of cybersecurity legislation in the Congress.
Department of Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity Michael Brown was recognized for leading leading information- and personnel-sharing efforts between DHS and the National Security Agency.
For the complete list, visit GovInfoSecurity’s slideshow of the 2011 slate of cybersecurity influencers.
