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RSA:DHS Project Will Secure Feds' Computers

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his agency is working on a "reverse Manhattan Project" to help secure the federal government's computer systems.

By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)

Chertoff himself was lured out of private law practice into public service, he said. "I'm optimistic that people who are in the IT area are going to be as selfless as lawyers and investment bankers and others who have done this."

Conference attendee Ron Hale said that many in the private sector underestimate the benefits of a public sector career, especially early on. "I think you get more experience and more responsibility in your career than you might get in the public sector," said Hale, director of information security practices with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, a professional organization of information system auditors.

Hale got his start as a police crime scene investigator in Cook County, Illinois, before branching out into private work. He said that while some agencies like the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or U.S. Social Security Administration might not have the cachet to attract top talent, that's not the case with other agencies, such as the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Saying you work for the DHS and you're working with the FBI, that's pretty sexy," he said. "That'll get you dates."

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