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Obama urges Senate to pass Cybersecurity Act, citing 'growing' cyber attack dangers to US

Obama urges Senate to pass Cybersecurity Act, citing 'growing' cyber attack dangers to US

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President Barack Obama calls for legislation to strengthen US defense systems against cyber attacks.

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After issuing a directive to focus on the mobile revolution in May, President Barack Obama has turned his sights to US telecommunications recently — to ensure the internet keeps running in the event of a natural disaster or national security emergency. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week, Obama has called for Congress to pass "comprehensive cybersecurity legislation" to deal with cybersecurity.

Outlining a potential cyber attack on critical US infrastructure, Obama explains that no one has managed to seriously damage or disrupt networks so far. However, "foreign governments, criminal syndicates and lone individuals are probing our financial, energy and public safety systems every day," says Obama. "It doesn't take much to imagine the consequences of a successful cyber attack."

Obama urges Senate to pass the recently revised version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, not to be confused with CISPA, and Congress to send legislation that can be signed into law. "It's time to strengthen our defenses against this growing danger."