Yahoo appoints Alex Stamos as new IT chief

Yahoo has reportedly hired veteran security executive Alex Stamos as its new IT chief.

Welcoming @alexstamos, our new #CISO http://t.co/D1Qb5T6c9F

— Yahoo Inc. (@YahooInc) March 10, 2014

Stamos was a key organiser of security conference TrustyCon, which was held last month and billed as counter programming to the RSA conference due to its alleged involvement with the NSA.

According to Cnet, Stamos had been the chief technology officer of security firm Artemis and would replace Yahoo's former CISO Justin Somaini.

He is said to lead Yahoo's security team, internally referred to as 'Paranoids,' and his role would include implementing top-to-bottom security for Yahoo's products and systems but also to lead the company and the industry in not just how security works today but how it needs to work in the future.

The report said that Stamos' appointment is crucial for Yahoo as it battles privacy issues following the NSA revelations and aims to make secure searching the default option for its home page.