Jeff Moss, founder of DEF CON, the world's largest hacker conference, and Black Hat, a global technical security conference, has been named Vice President and Chief Security Officer of ICANN.

The organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, manages the domain name system of the internet.

A self-proclaimed hacker for over 20 years, Moss was a Director at the Secure Computing Corporation, where he established the professional services department in Asia, Australia and the United States. He also worked in the information system security division of Ernst & Young, LLP.

"I can think of no one with a greater understanding of the security threats facing Internet users and how best to defend against them than Jeff Moss," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and Chief Executive Officer. "He has the in-depth insider's knowledge that can only come from fighting in the trenches of the on-going war against cyber threats."

Prior to his work with Black Hat and DEF CON, Moss was a Director at the Secure Computing Corporation, where he established the professional services department in Asia, Australia and the United States. He also worked in the information system security division of Ernst & Young, LLP.

Throughout his career he has used his skills and understanding of the hacking community and its methods to help organizations secure their global networks.

"I?m looking forward to bringing my skill sets to ICANN," said Moss. "Its role in coordinating the global Internet addressing system means that it is positioned to become the leader in identifying and dealing with online threats to the Domain Name System that could affect two billion global Internet users."