Appointment of Christopher Painter as Coordinator for US Cyber Issues
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As Secretary Clinton announced during her February 15, 2011 address on Internet Freedom, Christopher Painter has been appointed to serve as the Department's first Coordinator for Cyber Issues. Mr. Painter assumed his new position as of February 22, 2011and will establish and lead the new Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues.
The Coordinator for Cyber Issues will bring together the many elements in the State Department working on cyber issues to more effectively advance U.S. cyber interests. In this capacity, he will coordinate the Department's global diplomatic engagement on cyber issues; serve as the Department's liaison to the White House and federal departments and agencies on these issues; advise the Secretary and Deputy Secretaries on cyber issues and engagements; serve as a liaison to public and private sector entities on cyber issues; and coordinate the work of regional and functional bureaus within the Department engaged in these areas.
Mr. Painter is uniquely qualified for this new role and has been on the vanguard of cyber issues for twenty years. Most recently, Mr. Painter served in the White House as Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy in the National Security Staff. During his two years at the White House, Mr. Painter was a senior member of the team that conducted the President's Cyberspace Policy Review; served as Acting Cybersecurity Coordinator; helped coordinate the development of a forthcoming international strategy for cyberspace; and chaired high-level interagency groups devoted to international and other cyber issues.
Mr. Painter began his federal career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles where he led some of the most high profile and significant cybercrime prosecutions in the country, including the prosecution of notorious computer hacker Kevin Mitnick. He subsequently helped lead the case and policy efforts of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in the U.S. Department of Justice and served, for a short time, as Deputy Assistant Director of the F.B.I.'s Cyber Division. For over ten years, Mr. Painter has been a leader in international cyber issues.
He has represented the United States in numerous international fora, including Chairing the cutting edge G8 High Tech Crime Subgroup since 2002. He has worked with dozens of foreign governments in bilateral meetings and has been a frequent spokesperson and presenter on cyber issues around the globe. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Cornell University.
