I guess that is what you might call a turn up for the books, as the US Department of Homeland Security announces the 16 members which have been sworn in to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Especially when you consider that one of them, Jeff Moss, is best known for being the founder of the Black Hat and DEFCON hacker conferences and something of a hero to the hacker community. At DEFCON there is even a 'spot the fed' competition where prizes are awarded for those who can pick out undercover FBI agents in the crowd.

The official announcement explains that Moss has "also worked for Ernst & Young, LLP in their Information System Security division" but fails to add that he used to be known as Dark Tangent to the hacking community. Not that I think this is a bad thing, indeed as DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said while congratulating the 16 members: "the unique insights and expertise of this diverse council will be a valuable resource." With increasing concerns over cybersecurity issues, it makes sense to have someone with a grasp of the dark side as it were and I am sure that Moss will give valuable advice to Napolitano in this regard. I'm also sure that there will be a few raised eyebrows amongst the likes of

HSAC chairman, and former CIA and FBI Director, Judge William Webster, or New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly for example. Moss has said that he thinks a skeptical outsider viewpoint has been missing from the council, and that he can provide it.