Congrats To Sony Corp! This is a very good move

Sony Corporation just announced the appointment of Phil Reitinger as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer.

For those in the cybersecurity community you probably know of Phil and his many contributions. He is known as an action-oriented leader who understands the complexities of enterprise cybersecurity.

We have reported on two of his key initiatives here at CTOvision.com, both of which I believe to be indicators of things to come at Sony.

The first was an October 2009 overview of the new DHS National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). The vision for this type of cybersecurity center goes back quite a ways, but it took leaders like Phil to make it come true. The center is a way of helping multiple stakeholders collaborate on issues in a collegial way. In a world where there are very different authorities and responsibilities for collective action this is a great way to make the best of the situation. I believe Sony can expect similar vision and leadership from Phil in this regard.

Another piece that highlighted Phil’s contribution was our overview of a paper coordinated by DHS under the collegial leadership of Phil. The paper and what we like about it was reviewed at: “Mature Models for Healthy and Resilient Cyber Systems.” Things we liked about that included the fact that the paper captured the importance of collegiality, vision and fact based dialog. I believe Sony will expect similar actions from Phil.

Result: We will all be better off for this.

So, Congrats to Sony, and to Phil. I wish you both luck!

More from the announcement today at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201109/11-109E/index.html

PHILIP R. REITINGER IS NAMED SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER, SONY CORPORATION

(Tokyo, September 6, 2011) – Sony Corporation announced that Philip R. Reitinger has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Corporate Executive in charge of global information security and privacy, Sony Corporation, effective today.

As Sony Group’s top information security executive, Reitinger will be responsible for assuring the security of Sony’s information assets and services. He will oversee information security, privacy and internet safety across the company, coordinating closely with key headquarters groups and working in partnership with the information security community to bring the best ideas and approaches to Sony. Reitinger will report to Nicole Seligman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Corporation.

Reitinger has worked in and with the information security community for many years, and has held key cyber security positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Justice. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degree, and from Yale Law School.