Tom Davis, Cyber Czar?

Time magazine reported on Friday that former Republican congressman Tom Davis of Virginia is the White House's leading candidate to be the nation's first cybersecurity czar:

Tom Davis, a moderate Republican from Virginia, has emerged as a leading candidate for the Obama administration's newly created position of cybersecurity czar. Sources familiar with the White House's deliberations on the subject say Obama officials feel a Washington power player would make a better candidate than a tech guru. "They want someone who understands technology issues, but more importantly, knows how to get things done in Washington," says a cybersecurity expert who has been consulted by the White House. "There are very few people who have that combination of skills, and Davis is at the top of that short list."

Davis, who served in the House of Representatives for seven terms before retiring last fall, is a Hill veteran with extensive experience in technology policy. He authored the Federal Information Security Management Act in 2002, chaired the Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy and was a co-chair of Congress's Information Technology Working Group. (He also led the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and is popular on both sides of the aisle in Congress.) Crucially, Davis also has good connections to the IT private sector. His district, the 11th, is bristling with technology companies. Since retiring from Congress, Davis has joined the consulting firm Deloitte. Davis was not available for comment.

Nextgov readers likely are familiar with Davis, who retired from the House last fall, because of his long track record with regards to technology policy. He is a respected figure in the federal IT community and would arguably bring more profile to the administration's cyber efforts than any of the other nominees. His standing as a moderate Republican is also attractive, as it should give him the ability to reach out to key players in technology policy such as Sens. Collins, Lieberman and Coburn.

The emergence of Davis as a front-runner also means the odds are that Melissa Hathaway is pretty much out of the running. It's unlikely the administration would have floated Davis' name if Hathaway was still being seriously considered. Her name will probably be mentioned until the position is filled, but considering the mixed reviews of her 60-day cybsecurity report, it shouldn't be surprising if someone else is nominated.