Everyone in the IT world’s buzzing about who President-elect will tap as his chief technology officer — a post that could go to someone like Google chief Eric Schmidt.

Word is that the post Obama’s most focused on, however, will be the nation’s top cyber-security officer, the person charged with protecting the government and critical infrastructure from a growing wave of hackers and cyberspies.

According to a recent story by Forbes, the likeliest candidate for the “cyber czar” job may have been seated on stage a few feet away from the presidential front-runner at a Purdue University speech in July on the subject.

Paul Kurtz, currently a security consultant with Arlington, Va.-based Good Harbor Consulting, is said by Forbes to be the new administration’s top choice for the post, according to several sources within Washington’s cybersecurity community, although Kurtz has privately told colleagues that he is reluctant to accept the job.

In the speech, Obama told the audience: “As president, I’ll make cyber security the top priority that it should be in the 21st century. “I’ll declare our cyber-infrastructure a strategic asset and appoint a National Cyber Adviser who will report directly to me.”

With Obama scheduled to make his national security team selections known soon, we could find out in short order who’ll be taking on the big task of overseeing the nation’s cyber safety.

Tags: cyber security, national security, obama