Obama Appoints Noted Hacker As DHS Security Adviser
Moss, 39, was among 16 people sworn in Friday by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, during her first meeting with HSAC in Albuquerque, N.M.
"I congratulate the members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council on their appointments," Napolitano said in a statement. "As we work to fulfill the department's core mission of securing the country against the many threats it faces, the unique insights and expertise of this diverse council will be a valuable resource."
Moss, known in the hacker world as Dark Tangent, is perhaps best known for founding the Black Hat and Def Con security hacker conferences, held annually in Las Vegas in July. He currently works in Seattle as an IT security consultant for private companies, conducting assessments to test computer systems. Prior to his current position, Moss worked as an information security specialist at Ernst & Young and held a director position at Secure Computing.
The HSAC, which is chaired by former CIA and FBI Director William Webster, is composed of experts from state, local and tribal governments, emergency first-responder and academic communities as well as the private sector. The advisory council was created to provide recommendations and advice regarding homeland security issues directly to the secretary of Homeland Security.
Among the 25 HSAC members, Moss will be working with former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, former Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Norman Augustine, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr.
Previous to his professional career in security, Moss belonged to the hacking underground, engaging in activities that included "phone phreaking," making long distance calls for free, which differentiates him from the other members of the council.
Security experts and industry colleagues of Moss say that his appointment to the HSAC was a "bit surprising" but it indicates that the Obama administration is willing to take risks and seek alternative opinions to solve complex and difficult national security problems.
"[Moss] is very strong technically and he has a completely different perspective from everybody else on the advisory panel," said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of Cryptography Research, a San Francisco-based security research firm.
Specifically, Kocher said that Moss didn't represent a typical pick for a Washington, D.C., administrative panel in that his youth and early security background were "rebellious, geeky and experimental."
"He comes from the perspective where curiosity drives decisions more than anything else," Kocher said. "One perspective like that can be very valuable."
Kocher also added that Moss' expertise and long-established background in the security industry likely outweighed his questionable past in determining his candidacy.
"If a Supreme Court pick has jaywalked before, that shouldn't invalidate him. [Moss] isn't someone in which you have to actively worry that he'll be doing the wrong thing."