Cybersecurity is Personal for President Obama, says Author of Cyber Review

Dr. Melissa Hathaway, who was in charge of The White House 60 day clean slate review of cybersecurity, said that this review is different from the three earlier presidential actions (PDD-63 issued by President Clinton, the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace issued by President Bush, and the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative under President Bush) because of President Barak Obama's leadership. At a June 12th briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, she said that this issue is "personal" for President Obama because "he grew up with technology" and his recent campaign for the presidency experienced "intrusions in its information systems". Additionally, she said there is a greater sense of urgency this time because:

• cybersecurity is recognized as an economic security issue (e.g., the proposed cybersecurity policy coordinator will report to both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.);
• the "privacy and civil liberties" aspects of the infrastructure is recognized;
• it is imperative that the nation address the vulnerabilities in our infrastructure;
• this national strategy will look beyond federal networks as it sets forth national priorities.

She said that The White House's immediate priorities are: 1) to develop a unified approach to international engagement, 2) operationalize the partnership with the private sector, and 3) to build capabilities to deter, detect, defend, and respond.

A video recording and audio version of the event is available from the CSIS website.