Obama makes fresh push for cyber-security legislation

U.S. President Barack Obama was to make yet another push for cyber-security legislation on Friday, holding a conference with industry leaders and others and signing a new executive order promoting the sharing of threat information.

Obama has made cyber-security a top priority in the remainder of his term, capitalizing on North Korea's alleged hacking attack on Sony Pictures late last year to highlight the country's vulnerability to cyber-attacks and the need for stronger protective measures.

Last month, Obama put forward a fresh legislative proposal calling for companies to share threat information with the government, and used his State of the Union address to call for Congress to approve the proposal in a bipartisan manner.

On Friday, the White House hosted a conference in Silicon Valley with leaders from industry, tech companies, consumer and privacy advocates and law enforcement agencies and others, in an effort to share best practices, improve information sharing and encourage the adoption of more security technologies.

"The president has been committed to strengthening our Nation's cyber-security since the beginning of his administration and we have made significant progress.

Yet, cyber-threats to individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure and national security have grown more diffuse, acute, and destructive," the White House said in a fact sheet on the conference.

"Because of the interconnected nature of the Internet, no one is isolated from these threats. We are at an inflection point, both domestically and internationally, and now is the time to raise the call for greater collective action," it said.

Obama was also to sign a new executive order aimed at encouraging and promoting the sharing of cyber-security threat information within the private sector and between the private sector and the federal government.

The White House said the executive order lays out a framework for expanded information sharing designed to help companies work together with the federal government to quickly identify and protect against cyber-threats.

"Rapid information sharing is an essential element of effective cyber-security because it ensures that U.S. companies work together to respond to threats, rather than operating alone," it said.

Obama was expected to use his address at the conference to urge Congress to pass his legislative proposal.

"While we applaud Congress for successfully passing several pieces of important cyber-security legislation last year, we still need Congress to pass key cyber-security legislation," the White House said. (Yonhap)