The individual to fill that role isn’t expected to be announced until next week. But Obama said the official will “have regular access to me" to advise on a wide range of cyber-security issues, from military cyber defense to coordinating federal security policies, to improving online privacy and civil liberties of Americans.

But the head of the Coordinator office will be more of an administrator for unified policy and a public voice for the White House and the federal government than a “czar,” the title bandied about for several months in the media as expectation grew the administration would create some sort of White House job for cyber-security.

The president explicitly said the new White House office will “not dictate security standards to private companies.” The president also said the government would not seek to control private networks on monitor the Internet as part of its emerging cyber-security plans.

The individual will be included in meetings of the national security staff and the National Economic Council.

“Cyberspace is a world we depend on every day,” the president said, noting networks in schools, hospitals, the military and elsewhere are necessary parts of modern life and there are those trying to “disrupt and destroy.”