Obama taps cybersecurity expert to assess U.S. defenses

The White House has engaged a hard-charging consultant for an unprecedented review of U.S. cybersecurity policy to determine whether the government needs to be more pro-active in slowing cybercrime attacks on individuals and businesses. Melissa Hathaway, named by President Obama to conduct a 60-day review of the nation's cyberdefense policies, faces a tall order. She must assess the effectiveness of former president George W. Bush's $30 billion cyberdefense plan that emphasized tighter lockdowns on government data. And she must advise Obama on calls for him to get more directly involved in securing the Internet, say security experts and administration officials. "We can't afford to lose momentum right now, because the threats aren't slowing down, they're continuing to evolve and become much more sophisticated," says Tiffany Jones, director of public policy and government relations for security company Symantec.