"I wouldn't say the DHS has dropped the ball as much as it has neglected to make this a priority," Moore said.

As a result, the DHS is rarely the go-to agency on cyberscecurity issues, said Larry Kettlewell, the Kansas CISO.

"We've had a couple of experiences here in Kansas where, frankly, the federal government wasn't my first go-to," entity, Kettlewell said. "My first go-to was more out in the private sector" because of their greater expertise and experience in dealing with cyberthreats, he said. For instance, the state is trying to prepare for the Nyxem worm that is programmed to overwrite all of the files on computers it infects. "Frankly, I'm not looking at that much information from the federal government" on this topic, he said.

The department's continued failure to name an assistant secretary of cybersecurity, and the delay in finalizing a National Infrastructure Protection Plan are also issues of concern, Thompson said. "It is shameful that the top cyber spot in our nation has remained vacant since October 2004," he s

aid.