Obama To Create Cyber Czar In Awareness Effort

LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is creating a "cyber czar" within the White House to coordinate U.S. computer security. Critics already say the post will not have enough authority to haul the government into the digital age.

Government and private industry need to better protect the U.S. computer networks, the White House warns in a plan to be rolled out Friday as the administration sets broad goals for dealing with cyber threats.

President Barack Obama is expected to say that cyber security is a top priority of the administration and to call for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats cyber security involves.

Completed six weeks ago, the much-anticipated cyber report has been delayed because policymakers in and outside the White House have been at loggerheads over how much power and budget-making authority the new office will have.

According to officials familiar with the discussions, the cyber czar would be a special assistant to the president and would be supported by a new cyber directorate within the National Security Council. The cyber czar would also work with the National Economic Council, said the officials, who described the plan on condition of anonymity because it has not been publicly released.