Obama Establishes Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity

US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order establishing a 12-member cybersecurity commission that will protect the US national and economic security, the White House said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Obama administration’s plea for additional cybersecurity funding comes after the country has been the victim to several high profile cyber attacks including a massive one to its Office of Personnel Management (OPM), when hackers compromised the personal data of over 21 million current and former government employees and security clearance applicants.

“The Commission will make detailed recommendations to strengthen cybersecurity in both the public and private sectors while protecting privacy, ensuring public safety and economic and national security, fostering discovery and development of new technical solutions,” the executive order said.

In June, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reported that the personal records of millions of federal government employees and retirees have been hacked, including those who have applied for security clearance. The authorities soon dismissed the OPM director, but never officially made attribution for the attack.

The shock of the massive OPM breach led to numerous discussions on cyber protections, and in the final legislative week of the year, the US Congress is poised to pass legislation to incentivize private sector cyber threat information sharing.