Critical infrastructure chief leaves Commerce post

John Tritak, director of the Commerce Department's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, has left the government and will not take a position at the new Homeland Security Department, as many in the high-tech industry had expected.

"This was something he was planning to do for awhile," a department spokesman said of his departure, which was final Jan. 10.

Tritak joined the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, which is responsible for working with the business community to improve computer security, in August 1999. He joined the office from the law firm of Verner, Liipfer, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, where he worked with domestic and international clients in the areas of defense, telecommunications and transportation. Before that, he held several senior advisory posts within the State Department.

The Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office is heavily involved with private sector outreach and attempts to impress upon the companies that control 90 percent of the nation's infrastructure the necessity of protecting their information systems.

During his tenure, Tritak was responsible for coordinating the creation and implementation of the "National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure Protection." Tritak also was key in developing Project Matrix, which federal agencies must use to determine their reliance on critical infrastructures.

A department spokesman said Tritak is not likely to be replaced, as the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office will be absorbed into Homeland Security in March.