Government Cyber Assurance

Saying that he's accomplished his goals for the job, Amit Yoran has quit from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Director of the National Cyber Security Division after just a year. His resignation became effective yesterday.

"We've hired some fantastic expertise," Yoran said. We've achieved our primary objectives."

But commentators are naturally reading more into his abrupt departure than that.  While putting a brave face on it - a department spokeswoman, Tasia Scolinos, praised Yoran and gave the assurance that "Cybersecurity will continue to be a priority of the Department of Homeland Security" - the DHS must be very concerned at its inability to retain a high-flyer like Yoran, who sold to Symantec in 2002 the company he cofounded in 1998, a firm specializing in monitoring government and corporate computers around the world with an elaborate sensor network to protect against attacks. 

"We plan to move quickly to fill the position with someone who has demonstrated leadership in this important field," Scolinos added, though no names were named.

She did not respond to suggestions that Yoran's departure might indicate that Department of Homeland Security wasn't prioritizing computer security issues sufficiently highly on its overall agenda.