AOL TW secures Secret Service vet

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/bpihw/20011210/en/aol_tw_secures_secret_service_vet_1.html

By Georg Szalai
Tuesday December 11 02:32 AM EST 

NEW YORK (The Hollywood Reporter) --- In the wake of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, AOL Time Warner Inc. is breaking new ground in the
media industry, saying Monday that it has named the deputy director of
the U.S. Secret Service to the new position of chief security officer
and senior vp.

Larry Cockell, a 20-year Secret Service veteran, will start his new
assignment at the world's largest entertainment and online
conglomerate Jan. 14. Reporting to AOL TW executive vp administration
Patricia Fili-Krushel, Cockell will be responsible for security on a
global basis, coordinating and overseeing all security policies and
operations, the company said.

Analysts said Monday that they were not aware of similar positions at
other media giants but that big corporations in other fields have
started shoring up their security operations following Sept. 11. "I
don't know of such a chief security officer position at any of AOL's
media peers," Kaufman Bros. analyst Paul Kim said. "But this is
definitely a growing trend at S&P 500 companies."

AOL TW is in need of a security enforcer to avoid service
interruptions, particularly at its online unit, Kim said. "America
Online is a distribution platform for a lot of value the conglomerate
creates," he said, adding that any service interruptions could hurt
the company's overall business.

The appointment of Cockell as chief security officer also is in line
with comments from AOL TW CEO Gerald Levin in recent months. On
several occasions, Levin has said that after the September terrorist
attacks, he sees it as one of his main obligations to ensure the
security of his employees and his company's operations.

"In these increasingly turbulent times, Larry's appointment will bring
a higher level of coordination and integration to our worldwide
security operations," Fili-Krushel said Monday.

Cockell has been with the Secret Service in various assignments for
the past 20 years. Most recently, he was deputy director, making him
the highest-ranking black agent in the agency's history.

> From 1998-2000, Cockell was special agent in charge of the
presidential protective division, directing all security programs at
the Clinton White House. Before that, he was assistant director of the
Secret Service's office of human resources and training.

Before joining the Secret Service, Cockell worked at the Metropolitan
St. Louis Police Department for eight years. He holds a bachelor's
degree in urban affairs from St. Louis University.




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