Howard Schmidt, former vice president and chief security strategist at eBay Inc. and one of the nation"s top cybersecurity experts, has joined security start-up Electronic Lifestyle Integration Inc. as chairman of its board of directors. The Mount Laurel, N.J.-based company makes a product called Eli, a security device designed to provide home and small office users with firewall, antispam and antivirus protection, content filtering, and DSL or cable modem, wireless gateway, four-port switch and VPN support.

"I am delighted to join such an innovative group of security and technology experts that is directly addressing one of the most pressing vulnerabilities in the cyberworld -- broadband security in the home and small and medium enterprises," said Schmidt in a statement.

Schmidt"s career as a public advocate for information security includes positions as the Special Adviser for Cyber Security for the White House and as a member of the President"s Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology.

Schmidt, now chief security strategist for the US-CERT Partners Program, was chairman of President Bush"s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board from January 2003 to May 2003 and served as international president of the Information Systems Security Association. He was the first president and co-founder of the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and served as chief security officer for Microsoft Corp., co-founding and directing the company"s Trustworthy Computer Security Strategies Group.

Schmidt also worked in the area of computer crime investigation for the FBI and the Chandler Police Department in Arizona, and as the director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Computer Crime and Information Warfare Division.

He still serves as a computer crime investigator in the U.S. Army Reserves.