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Internet address manager ICANN has appointed former US government security official Rod Beckstrom as its new CEO.

Beckstrom, former Director of the US National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC), replaces Paul Twomey, who has held the job since March, 2003.

His appointment underscores the importance of security as an issue for ICANN, which controls the internet system of web addresses.

Despite some recent well-publicized successes against spammers, criminal hacker gangs continue to outwit businesses and consumers with increasingly sophisticated phishing and malware attacks.

In a statement, Beckstrom also burnished his credentials with internet libertarians.

"The importance of the internet as a free flowing source of information is being underscored right now by the events in Iran," said Beckstrom. "It shows the power of human expression through a free and open Net."

Announcing the appointment, ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said that as well as his experience in cyber security, Beckstrom had also been an entrepreneur, worked for an NGO and had written books on leadership.

ICANN operates as a non-profit organization licensed by the US Commerce Department.