Among the many Gmail subscribers to have their private contacts exposed in the Google Buzz privacy fiasco was Andrew McLaughlin, the Obama administration’s deputy chief technology officer and Google’s former head of global public policy.

“So I see a big default privacy flaw in Buzz,” McLaughlin wrote in a Feb. 10 Buzz post uncovered by Breitbart’s Big Government (click on image below to enlarge). “By default, Buzz adds the people you e-mail most as your ‘followers’, and then lists them on your public Google Profile Page. In other words, Google exposes the people you e-mail most, by default, to the world. That violates my sense of expectations–I expect the list of people I e-mail most to be kept private. What should I do? I guess I don’t really have an option other than turning off Buzz. Any other ideas?”

Sure. Here’s one: How about no longer using your former employer’s email service to communicate privately with the folks you once worked with as a lobbyist for Google?
Certainly seems unwise given the mandate of the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

[Buzz image credit: Breitbart's Big Government]

The move, which will be effective immediately upon its announcement, is quite a blow for Intel (INTC). Gelsinger had done stints as the company’s chief technology officer and as head of its research division. He helped quarterback Intel’s 386 and 486 processors, played a major role in the launch of Nehalem and had been considered a likely successor to Intel CEO Paul Otellini. Now he’s a contender for the top job at EMC (EMC) when CEO Joe Tucci decides to step down.

An odd turn of events, considering Hathaway led the administration’s 60-day review of governmentwide cybersecurity preparedness and seemed its likely choice to head up the new cybersecurity office. With the post now vacant and the list of candidates who’ve been considered for the job rumored to have reached at least 30, the administration may have a tough time finding the right person for this difficult job–and convincing him or her to accept it.

“As it stands right now, the cyber czar would have two bosses, the National Security Council and National Economic Council, as well as a chief information officer and chief technology officer,” Greg Garcia, former assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, told Dark Reading. “In addition, that individual would have to herd all of the cats at DHS and other agencies. Those are big shoes to fill–in fact, I’m skeptical that anyone could succeed in the [cyber czar] job.”

And Garcia’s not the only one. Among other potential candidates who’ve reportedly told the White House they’re not interested: former Republican U.S. Representative Tom Davis of northern Virginia, Microsoft (MSFT) executive Scott Charney, Symantec (SYMC) Chairman John Thompson and retired Air Force General Harry Raduege Jr., the former Defense Information Systems Agency director and co-chair of the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.

An odd turn of events, considering Hathaway led the administration’s 60-day review of governmentwide cybersecurity preparedness and seemed its likely choice to head up the new cybersecurity office. With the post now vacant and the list of candidates who’ve been considered for the job rumored to have reached at least 30, the administration may have a tough time finding the right person for this difficult job–and convincing him or her to accept it.

“As it stands right now, the cyber czar would have two bosses, the National Security Council and National Economic Council, as well as a chief information officer and chief technology officer,” Greg Garcia, former assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, told Dark Reading. “In addition, that individual would have to herd all of the cats at DHS and other agencies. Those are big shoes to fill–in fact, I’m skeptical that anyone could succeed in the [cyber czar] job.”

And Garcia’s not the only one. Among other potential candidates who’ve reportedly told the White House they’re not interested: former Republican U.S. Representative Tom Davis of northern Virginia, Microsoft (MSFT) executive Scott Charney, Symantec (SYMC) Chairman John Thompson and retired Air Force General Harry Raduege Jr., the former Defense Information Systems Agency director and co-chair of the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.

This is old news, literally: Chen left his spot as chief technology officer last fall, though he remains employed at Google (GOOG), which bought his company for $1.65 billion in 2006. “Steve shifted his focus to help with some Google engineering projects. He’s still involved with YouTube and invested in its success,” says YouTube spokesman Ricardo Reyes via email.

Google hasn’t officially named a replacement chief technology officer for Chen, and people at the company say the job no longer exists. But the highest ranking engineer at the company is now Louis Perrochon, who has been at Google since 2003.

Chad Hurley, who co-founded YouTube with Chen and Jawed Karim in 2004, remains the company’s CEO. But it’s not unusual for founders to move on from their companies within a few years of selling them.

The fact that Chen’s move  has gone unreported until now should underscore that his departure didn’t represent a major org chart reshuffling. The technical challenges of the site have long been handled by a large engineering team, which makes sense considering that the challenges themselves are large. YouTube now uploads 20 hours of video per minute.

Chen was reportedly working on a technology incubator project last fall along with BitTorrent co-founder Ashwin Navin; no word on what Chen is actually doing at Google now.

Here are Chen and Hurley in a video they shot and uploaded on Oct. 9, 2006, the day they sold their company to Google.

Mr. McLaughlin, who was Google’s head of global public policy and government affairs, is leaving Silicon Valley for Washington, D.C., to become a deputy to Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, who’s in charge of advancing the president’s tech agenda.

The White House has declined to confirm Mr. McLaughlin’s appointment. Google has confirmed he’s left the company but remained mum about where he’s going.

On Wednesday, two consumer advocacy groups sent a letter to the White House asking administration officials to reconsider hiring Mr. McLaughlin, since he previously oversaw Google’s lobbying efforts.

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Aneesh Chopra, currently Virginia’s secretary of technology, got the nod and will soon join his former colleague Vivek Kundra, the national chief information officer, on a team tasked with using technology to make government more efficient. “Aneesh will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities–from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure,” Obama said in his Saturday radio address.

“Aneesh and Jeffrey [Zients, the newly appointed chief innovation officer] will work closely with our chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs,” he said. During the campaign, the high tech community buzzed about who might fill the CTO slot, which the campaign suggested would be cabinet-level position.

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With the naming of Oracle (ORCL) President Charles Phillips to President Barack Obama’s 16-Member Economic Recovery Advisory Board a few days ago, another Silicon Valley tech mandarin fell off the list to become America’s first chief technology officer.

The job–which was promised by President Barack Obama during his campaign and underscored when he released a memorandum on transparency and open government that outlined some of the CTO duties the day after he was sworn in–remains unfilled.

In fact, so does the Federal Communications Commission chairman’s post, which insiders said a month ago would go to former IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) exec Julius Genachowski. But he has not been nominated yet.

Both Genachowski and Phillips were on a short list floated in November by The Wall Street Journal for CTO. The third name on it, Level 3 (LVLT) exec Don Gips, has since been named to a high-level White House job.

While the continuing economic crisis has sucked all the oxygen from the room, the Obama administration has still made a lot of promises about tech issues, from improving broadband to making the government more transparent and digital.

So, who is getting the job as head geek?

Could it be well-known entrepreneur Mitch Kapor? Google (GOOG) guru-in-resident and Internet father Vint Cerf? Or some other tech-savvy Silicon Valley figure?

BoomTown is, of course, rooting for Steve “Woz” Wozniak. Once he wins “Dancing With the Stars” this season, he will be the only nerd capable of the two-stepping one needs to survive in Washington.

Post new guesses in comments below.

And, until someone is appointed to fix the nation’s computers, here is the Jan. 21 memo Obama released about some of the tasks ahead for America’s CTO:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

BARACK OBAMA

[Photo of the t-shirt from ThinkGeek.]