President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $3.1 billion to update the government's archaic computer systems to protect them from cyberattacks as part of a new, centralized effort to boost cybersecurity.

The plan includes hiring a chief information security officer and expand the government's troubled "Einstein" intrusion-prevention technology. Some infrastructure is downright ancient, with the Social Security Administration relying on vulnerable systems from the 1960s.

Meanwhile, the U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, warned Congress that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are the most serious threats to U.S. information systems. Clapper also said increasingly connected devices and appliances make the U.S. vulnerable in new ways.

Dubbed the "Cybersecurity National Action Plan," the White House sees it as the "capstone" of seven years of work done to build a cohesive federal cybersecurity response.

While some problems can be fixed relatively quickly, Obama is also directing his advisers to also focus on anticipating future threats so that cybersecurity protections can adapt.

By: DocMemory
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