Edible Apple

All Things D reports that Apple recently hired security expert and noted author David Rice to take on a position as Apple’s director of global security. It remains to be seen just what Rice’s position will entail, but the hire reaffirms that Apple is taking security a lot more seriously than it has in the past.

Those who know Rice describe him as a deeply respected name in IT security circles who not only can speak the kind of language that makes CIOs comfortable, but can also back up that language with the skills and knowledge to match.

Rice hasn’t yet responded to my messages seeking comment, but his bio is fascinating. He’s a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has a master’s degree in Information Warfare and Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He served as a Global Network Vulnerability analyst for the National Security Agency and as a Special Duty Cryptologic officer for the Navy.

If the name ‘David Rice’ sounds familiar, it’s because he’s also the author of Geekonomics, a software security bible published in 2007 where he argued that insecure software is the equivalent of creating a public hazard with the potential to increase crime and have an adverse affect on national security.

Previous security hires by Apple include Window Snyder who formerly headed up security at Mozilla, Ivan Krstic who formerly headed up security on the One Laptop Per Child project, and PGP co-founder and CTO Jon Callas.

Rice is expected to begin work at Apple in March.