By Kevin Coleman -- Defense Tech Cyberwarfare Correspondent
In mid December the U.S. Department of State released the State Department's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The review charts the way forward for the organization to achieve its strategic objective which is to play a greater role in foreign policy of the United States. The document clearly acknowledges the fact that cyber attacks on government information and commercial intellectual property threatens the security and long term economic prosperity of the United States.
The QDDR calls for a new coordinator for cyber security. It states that the Coordinator will lead the Department’s global diplomatic engagement on cyber issues, serve as State’s primary liaison to the President’s Cyber Security Coordinator for activities involving cyber, and will serve as liaison to other federal agencies that work on cyber issues. In addition, the Cyber Security Coordinator position will help ensure that classified materials are protected.
We are witnessing the birth of cyber diplomacy, a position and subject matter that will evolve and be replicated by countries around the world. The appointee will have to quickly master the art of cyber diplomacy and this will be no small task. This is one position well worth watching.
