When Sony promised to bolster its security following the recent hack attack that penetrated and collapsed the PlayStation Network, the consumer electronics giant wasn’t joking.
On Tuesday, Sony announced it’s installment of a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Homeland Security official as the new chief security officer at Sony.
Philip Reitinger, the former deputy under secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will now serve as “senior vice president and chief information security officer” at Sony.
As Sony Group’s top information security executive, Reitinger will be responsible for assuring the security of Sony’s information assets and services. He will oversee information security, privacy and internet safety across the company, coordinating closely with key headquarters groups and working in partnership with the information security community to bring the best ideas and approaches to Sony.
According to a statement released Tuesday by Sony, Reitinger has worked in and with the information security community for many years, and has also held key cyber security positions at Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Justice. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degree, and from Yale Law School.
In addition to warding off future hacks, Sony is looking to bolster public confidence in the company, which has seen its stock fall better than 40% since the high-profile hacker attacks of April 2011.
