Does Apple need a Chief Security Officer?
MacSlash posted an interesting question to their readers that I thought would make for an interesting discussion here at TUAW: due to the rise in Mac OS X security-related stories, the debunked worm alarms and even hacking contests that get cancelled before they become useful experiments, does Apple need to appoint a public Chief Security Oficer?
On one side of the topic, some argue that it would show a sign of weakness in Apple's security department. On the other side, some believe it would equate to Apple putting their best foot forward on security, a topic that will likely hit the company head-on sooner or later anyway. To clarify what this position would (theoretically) be: the Chief Security Officer would be a public figure for Apple who could speak as an authority on Mac security, putting rumors and mis-reported news to rest, announcing the company's position and status on security, etc. The MacSlash post also summarized an important public element of this topic quite well: "In matters related to product marketing, it's the public perception, not the reality that really matters....And once you've lost a user's confidence, it's hard to get it back. Just ask Microsoft."
What do you think, TUAW readers? Should Apple get ahead of the game and appoint a public security official before something more serious strikes Mac OS X? Sound off.
