Several sources are reporting that Apple has hired ex-Navy Information Warfare expert and author, David Rice, to be its head of global security starting in March. Arik Hesseldahl at All Things Digital was the first to report the news on Saturday afternoon.
Rice is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (in 1994) and earned a Masters in Information Warfare and Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is currently Executive Director of The Monterey Group, a strategic consulting firm.
Rice had previously served as a Global Network Vulnerability Analyst for the National Security Agency and Special Duty Cryptologic Officer for the United State Navy. According to his bio, the U.S. government has recognized and awarded him for “significant contributions” to the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency for developing security configuration and design guidance for critical national infrastructure and global networks.
Rice is author of “Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software,” a book published in 2007 which argues that the software industry is rewarded for carelessness, and sheds light on how the industry should put incentives in place to get the reliability and security that is needed.
It’s unclear what responsibilities Rice may have as head of global security for Apple. Will Rice be working internally to further protect Apple corporate product secrets or will he be involved in the security of customer facing products? We have reached out to Apple for comment but have not yet received a response.