in

Obama wants $19 billion to improve America’s cyber security

Cyber attacks have grown to become one of the most-important issues in the United States, with both corporations and government agencies suffering from them in recent years, and President Obama wants Congress to start doing more to combat them. In his fiscal 2017 budget proposal, Obama asked Congress for $19 billion to improve cyber security across the government, which is about $5 billion more than what he asked for this year. Fortunately, improving cyber security is something that both parties want to do, so there’s a good chance that the Republican-controlled Congress will be on board with request.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday sought a surge in funding to counter cyber security threats, as his top intelligence official warned Congress that computer attacks were among the most imminent security challenges facing the United States. In his fiscal 2017 budget proposal, Obama asked for $19 billion for cyber security across the U.S. government, an increase of $5 billion over this year. While the White House’s overall fiscal plan faces tough going in the Republican-controlled Congress, increased cyber security funding has won bipartisan support of lawmakers in the past. The request comes as the Obama administration has struggled to address the growing risk posed by criminals and nation states in the digital world. In Congress, Obama’s director of national intelligence, James Clapper, warned that cyber threats “could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and U.S. government systems.” The Obama initiative calls for a more than one-third increase from the $14 billion appropriated this year and would include $3.1 billion for technology modernization at various federal agencies.

What do you think?

Avatar of Brian Molidor

Written by Brian Molidor

Brian Molidor is Editor at Social News Watch. Find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

We need an alternative to passwords because people are idiots

The long-awaited death of Adobe Flash is almost upon us