The security industry is mourning the loss of Howard A. Schmidt, 67, who served under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama as their top cybersecurity advisors after holding top security posts at Microsoft and eBay.

Schmidt's post under Obama, from 2009-2012, was the very first White House cybersecurity coordinator.

His distinguished career spans public service and private sector posts, including more than 26 years of military service starting with the US Air Force and later serving as an Army Reserve Special Agent with the Criminal Investigation Division's Computer Crime Unit. He served as President and CEO of the Information Security Forum, and later as the executive director of SAFECode, and was a partner in Ridge-Schmidt Cyber, an executive services firm.

[Read more about the passing of Howard A. Schmidt on Dark Reading.]