James Lewis is a senior fellow at CSIS where he writes on technology, national security, and the international economy.

Before joining CSIS, he worked for the federal government and received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

James was asked by Alex Ely of Foreign Policy to comment. His reply was, in my opinion, not unexpected.

Alex reports...

"He told me that the White House was becoming concerned because "DHS hasn't really done anything" on the issue of cyber security.

"Some of it's internal squabbling" he says, "but they just can't seem to get their act together.

You hear [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates and [Director of National Intelligence Mike] McConnell talking about it, but you never hear anything from [DHS Secrtary Michael] Chertoff."

So far, CNCI has been criticized for being too secretive, though the initiative is a step forward overall.

In fact, it's good news that someone is finally starting to take this seriously. Both presidential candidates have expressed a committment to improving cyber security.

Senator Obama has said he will appoint a "national cyber advisor" and will make the issue "the top priority that it should be in the 21st century."

Senator McCain has pointed to a need to "invest far more in the federal task of cyber security" in order to protect strategic interests at home.

Knowing just who is supposed to be in charge of cyber security would be a good start.

As Lewis points out, "It's not something you can do on an ad hoc basis like we've been doing for the past several years," adding, "We need to be better organized and better at assigning responsibilities."

Nice digging Alex !