US president Barack Obama is on the verge of announcing the US' first cyber security czar, according to reports.
The Guardian has suggested that Howard Schmidt, an ex-employee of both eBay and Microsoft, is likely to get the job after acting as a cyber security advisor to president Bush in his first term.
Obama confirmed in May that he would be choosing the czar personally as cyber crime threatens the computer networks underpinning the US economy.
Reports circled in September that the announcement was due within weeks but the government has left us waiting to confirm the post.
Whether the role goes to Schmidt or somebody else, the candidate will be responsible for overseeing online defences at both the Pentagon and the various US intelligent agencies - which many see as quite a task -to make these isolated groups sing from the same hymn sheet.
