"Our nation is at risk," the White House said in a statement. "Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in our government and critical infrastructure are a risk to national security, public safety, and economic prosperity."
"It has become clear that our nation cannot fully defend against these threats unless certain parts of cybersecurity law are updated," it said.
US President Barack Obama has identified cybersecurity as a top priority of his administration and the White House legislation joins some 50 cyber-related bills introduced during the last session of Congress.
The White House bill would require critical infrastructure such as the power, financial and transportation sectors to come up with plans to better protect their increasingly Internet-connected computer networks.
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Cyber Defense
The US military is preparing for 21st Century electronic warfare and cyber terrorism. A joint US Cyber Command and four service cyber commands have been set up.
Their mission is to defend American military networks and civilian American infrastructure from cyber terrorism and from foreign government hackers.
The officers leading these cyber commands explain how they are organized, how they operate, and how they will protect the United States from foreign military hackers, intelligence agencies, and cyber terrorists.
