Obama Creates ‘Cyber Czar

How many more CZSR’s is Obama going to create before any one tells him to stop, and that we don’t have the money to keep createing Government jobs.

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President Obama announced on Friday the creation of a “cyber czar” position, stepping up his administration’s efforts to better protect the nation’s computer networks.

FOX News , The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced on Friday the creation of a “cyber czar” to oversee an enhanced security system for U.S. computer networks.

He also released a report recommending how to safeguard the nation’s cyber network — a review that was headed by former Bush administration official Melissa Hathaway.

“We’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country,” he said, calling cyber threats one of the most serious economic and military dangers the nation faces.

Obama said this is “a transformational moment” for America, when computer networks are probed and attacked millions of times a day.

Obama said he will pick the person he wants to head up a new White House office of cyber security soon, and that person will report to the National Security Council as well as to the National Economic Council, in a nod to the importance of computers to the economy.

Officials say a handful of experts — both in and out of government — are under consideration for the post.

Obama depicted the U.S. as a digital nation that needs to provide the education required to keep pace with technology and attract and retain a cyber-savvy work force. He laid out broad goals for dealing with cyber threats and called for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats related to cyber security. But the president added that his administration will not dictate cybersecurity standards for private companies.

“The task I describe will not be easy,” Obama said. “Protecting our prosperity and security in this globalized world is going to be a long, difficult struggle demanding patience and persistence over many years.

“But we need to remember we’re only at the beginning,” he said, asserting the information age is only in its infancy.

Obama has called digital security a top priority, whether it’s guarding the computer systems that keep the lights on in a city and direct airliners to the right runway or those protecting customers who pay their bills online.

“Make no mistake, this world, cyberspace is a world that we depend on every single day,” he said. “Cyberspace is real. So are the risks that come with it.”

The special assistant title is not as high in the White House hierarchy as some officials sought. It would not give the czar direct, unfettered access to the president. Instead, the cyber czar will report to senior NSC officials — a situation many say will make it difficult to make major changes within the calcified federal bureaucracy.

Critics also say the cyber czar will not have sufficient budgetary and policymaking authority over securing computer systems and spending.

Government and military officials have acknowledged that U.S. computer networks are constantly assailed by attacks and scans, ranging from nuisance hacking to more nefarious probes and attacks. Some suggest that the actions at times are a form of cyber espionage from other nations, including China.