Julius Genachowski to Head FCC: Report

Whoever assumes the as-yet-to-be-defined CTO's role, however, will find himself or herself facing arguably the toughest job in technology.

The ObamaCTO.org Web site, which is aims to help the Obama administration set its technology priorities, has been conducting an online survey in an attempt to guide the eventual appointee.

Ensuring that the Internet is widely accessible and network neutral is cited as the top priority by almost 13,000 respondents, followed by privacy and repealing the Patriot Act, and repealing the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Security will inevitably be high priority for the CTO, according to Kurt Roemer, chief security strategist at networking giant Citrix Systems(CTXS Quote), who has been consulting with the Obama camp on technology issues.

Whether it's interacting with the government agencies online or voting in a presidential election via computer, Roemer warns that the government fames a major obstacle in terms of convincing the public that online interactions are free of security threats.

"We need to establish a model for working with the government online that goes beyond just handing out an ID and a password," he told TheStreet.com. "There needs to be layers of security that instill confidence."