One of the things you can use as a “tell” about the importance of a position in government is how long it takes to appoint someone new to the position when a vacancy occurs.
See “
White House Taps National Security Vet as Cybersecurity Lead.”
Maybe, because this required a Senate confirmation, the process was held up for political or other agenda reasons. But, it does show the importance or lack of importance that people hold for the position.
Of course there was the holdup, for political reasons, of promotions for hundreds of flag/general officers in the Senate, so maybe this seemed like small potatoes.
But, I bet if there was some huge cybersecurity event that had happened, there would have been swift action to get the appointment accomplished. Lacking that, we doddle along mindlessly.
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
