Cybersecurity's New Guard

The Bush Administration named Rod Beckström—entrepreneur, author, and decentralization expert—head of the National Cyber Security Center on Mar. 20

by Keith Epstein

Rod Beckström has been tapped to head the National Cyber Security Center. Beckstrom.com

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Rod Beckström may seem like an unconventional choice to be the nation's top cybersecurity watchdog. On Mar. 20, the Bush Administration named Beckström head of the National Cyber Security Center, an interagency group quietly created by a national security directive signed by President Bush in January.

Beckström, 47, is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, a former derivatives trader, and a champion of conflict resolution in Africa. He's better known as the founder of business collaboration software provider Twiki.net and as an author specializing in the agility of decentralized organizations than for connections inside the Beltway or expertise in cybersecurity.

Is he really the best choice for defending U.S. computer networks from cyberattacks? Does Beckström have the bona fides to secure the government's computer systems, which have been penetrated with regularity in recent years, and against which the government has failed to orchestrate a coordinated, centralized response? Absolutely, say some network security professionals and insiders at the Pentagon, the National Security Agency, and the White House.

Decentralization Expertise

Who better to come against the splintered, decentralized bands of hackers and cybercriminals who pose the biggest threat to computing systems than an expert in, well, decentralization? Beckström highlights the benefits of not having a traditionally hierarchical, identifiable, and centralized organizational structure in The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, a book he co-authored in 2006.

For one, leaderless groups are more nimble. They can be more creative. Think of the creation and organic growth of Craigslist, Wikipedia, and even terrorist cells. Then there are hackers, whose ability to mask identities, navigate the unregulated wilds of the Internet, and insert malware where chief information officers least expect it gives them disproportionate power and reach. Whether in the marketplace or the battlefield, the advantage goes to those who are harder to identify and locate, and who lack a clear headquarters or chain of command.

"Decentralization has been lying dormant for thousands of years," wrote Beckström and co-author Ori Brafman. "But the advent of the Internet has unleashed this force, knocking down traditional businesses, altering entire industries, affecting how we relate to one another, and influencing world politics."

Beckström and co-author Brafman add: "The absence of structure, leadership, and formal organization, once considered a weakness, has become a major asset. Seemingly chaotic groups have challenged and defeated established institutions. The rules of the game have changed."

Spider vs. Starfish

The title comes from organizational properties. "Spider" organizations are rigid and centralized. People follow the leader. Encounter big problems at the top and the entire structure collapses. Better to think like a "starfish," which moves forward thanks to the independent movement of multiple arms that can regenerate if severed.

The question now, of course, is just how far Beckström can take his thesis. He has supporters who think similarly in the Pentagon, where senior military officials have mentioned his book while discussing computer security issues and in gatherings of computer security specialists in the few weeks prior to Beckström's selection.