I've been a long-time fan and supporter of Richard Clarke. This is the man who served under four presidents, most famously on the National Security Council as the Counter-Terrorism Czar. And the man whose team and he read the intelligence correctly prior to 9/11 but was conveniently ignored. The man who was (if memory serves) the only person on active duty in the administration in the wake of 9/11 who, during the 9/11 commision hearings ever actually apologized to the American people.
"To the loved ones of the victims of 9/11, to them who are here in this room, to those who are watching on television, your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn't matter because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness."
Post Iraq II invasion, Richard Clarke became (probably in frustration combined with intel and foresight) the "Cyber-Security Czar", focused on the cyber threat to the American government, military and industry/commerce sectors. His book "Against All Enemies" (2004) is his momoir/account of the events leadings up to 9/11. His book "CyberWar" (2010) is a fairly accurate look at many of the internet-based threats to the U.S. as well as the world as a whole, although some statements contained in the book are disputed within the security industry.
It was announced today that Richard Clarke has joined the board of Bit9. Those who know me know that I have, since the demise of the Cisco Security Agent (CSA), been singing the praises of Bit9's application whitelisting solution Parity, after months of solution research for a true endpoint security solution. I will be very interested to see what impact Mr. Clarke has, if any, on the company and its business goals and direction. Regardless, I am of the opinion that his backing of this organization isn't just fluff and showbiz. The technology is sound and his experience in thirty years of intel, counter-terrorism and cyber-security gets that.
Personally, I hope my optimism isn't disappointed.
