Obama's cybersecurity initiative wins praise

29.05.2009
U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement Friday of a new cybersecurity push by the U.S. government won widespread praise from the technology industry, with many people saying his attention to the issue is a major step toward better securing the nation's computer networks.

Obama's announcement and an accompanying largely contained ideas long called for by various cybersecurity experts, but the largest benefit of Friday's announcement was that Obama lent his name to the fight against cybercrime, said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, a trade group focused on cybersecurity.

"A lot of the things that were discussed this morning have been said before, but it is a very big deal when the president says them," Clinton said. "The fact that this is elevated to the presidential level ... that is a big deal."

Obama announced that he will appoint a national cybersecurity coordinator, who will report directly to the president, and the U.S. government will collaborate with private groups to create a comprehensive national cybersecurity policy. The White House will also designate cybersecurity as a key management initiative and develop metrics for measuring improvements, Obama said.

The U.S. government will create a national cybersecurity education program, and it will invest in cybersecurity research and development, the president announced.

Cybersecurity experts and some lawmakers have long called for the U.S. government to focus more on cybersecurity, and Obama's announcement Friday gives the issue a much-needed boost, Clinton and other cybersecurity experts said.