President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection

Robert T. Marsh

Chairman, PCCIP

"Tom" Marsh was the chairman of the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection. He was tasked with bringing together the combined forces of the government and private sector to advise and assist the President by developing a strategy for protecting and assuring the continued operation of this nation's critical infrastructures. These critical infrastructures include telecommunications, electrical power systems, gas and oil transportation and storage, banking and finance, transportation, water supply systems, emergency services (medical, police, fire, and rescue) and continuity of government services.

Quick Facts About Mr. Marsh

• Born January 3, 1925 in Logansport, Indiana

• Graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

• Earned Master of Science degrees from the University of Michigan in Instrumentation Engineering and Aeronautical Engineering.

• First Chairman of Thiokol Corporation 1989-1991.

Mr. Marsh has an extensive background as an aerospace consultant. He serves as the chairman of the Board of CAE Electronics, Inc. and Comverse Government Systems Corporation. He is a director of Teknowledge Corporation and a Trustee of the MITRE Corporation. He is also the director of the Air Force Aid Society. Mr. Marsh is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Carnegie-Mellon Software Engineering Institute and was chairman of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

From 1989 to 1991 he served as the first chairman of Thiokol Corporation as it transitioned from Morton-Thiokol to separate company status. Mr. Marsh is a retired Air Force general. His last assignment was serving as the commander of the Air Force Systems Command, where he directed the research, development, testing and acquisition of aerospace systems for the Air Force.

With his vast experience in both commercial industry and the military, Mr. Marsh brings a unique understanding of both government and industry needs in the area of critical infrastructure protection to his position as Chairman of the Commission.

President Clinton has named Sam Nunn, the former Georgia U.S. senator, as co-chairman of the advisory team to the White House commission established to assess threats to the nation's computer infrastructure.

Clinton also appointed Charles R. Lee, chief executive officer of GTE Corp. of Stamford, Conn., David N. Campbell, president of BBN Technologies of Cambridge, Mass., and Elvin Moon, president of E.W. Moon Engineering & Construction Management Industries of Los Angeles, to serve on the team advising the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP).

Clinton created the PCCIP in July 1996 to identify and analyze cyberthreats to the nation's critical resources and systems, including the telecommunications infrastructure, banking systems and emergency services systems. The group is working with industry and government officials at the federal, state and local levels to evaluate diverse threats such as hackers, insider criminals and information warfare attacks.

Tom Marsh--a retired Air Force general and chairman of the board of CAE Electronics Inc. in Arlington, Va., and Comverse Government Systems Corp. in Woodbury, N.Y.--heads the PCCI. The commission's full-time federal members include representatives from the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Justice, Transportation and Treasury, along with the FBI, CIA, National Security Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As the advisory committee co-chairman, Nunn joins Jamie Gorelick, former deputy attorney general, in leading the commission's private sector consulting team.

Some industry groups, such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association, have questioned whether the White House is using the commission to push its controversial key escrow encryption plan. But PCCIP officials said they will not prescribe any mandatory security policies or technical solutions.

Since his January appointment, Marsh has said in public speeches that the commission's primary challenge is to create a partnership with the private sector, heeding the technical advise from industry experts. Nunn and Gorelick are expected to represent industry's concerns about reinforcing privacy policies and limiting efforts to establish new federal security regulations on encryption products.

The commission's final product will be a set of policy, legislation and program recommendations for bolstering security in all essential infrastructure systems. The group has set up its own World Wide Web site at http://www.pccip.gov/pccip.