Executive at Internet security firm likely nominee for cyber chief

Amit Yoran, vice president of managed security services operations at Internet security firm Symantec, is the likely nominee to become the Homeland Security Department's cybersecurity director, sources told National Journal's Technology Daily.

His nomination is expected pending completion of background and security clearances. Yoran was not immediately available for comment.

Robert Liscouski, the assistant Homeland Security secretary for infrastructure protection, is making a general presentation on cybersecurity Monday at an invitation-only breakfast hosted by the Information Technology Association of America. Sources speculated that it may be the venue for the announcement of the new director.

Yoran, an honors graduate in computer science from the U.S. Military Academy, has an extensive background in corporate and government technology security. He directed vulnerability assessments for the Defense Department's computer-emergency response team and designed security features for the Pentagon and the Office of the Defense Secretary's computer networks.

In 1998, he co-founded the cybersecurity firm Riptech, which developed the Caltarian network for monitoring networks in "real time" from the company's northern Virginia operating center.

Riptech provided security services for federal agencies and Fortune 500 companies and also produced the Internet Security Threat Report, which drew from reports of cyber attacks on 300 companies worldwide. In July 2002, Symantec acquired Riptech for $145 million.