President Obama said Tuesday the recent hacking of U.S. Central Command social media sites demonstrates the need for greater cybersecurity, both in government and in the private sector.
“With the Sony attack that took place, with the Twitter account that was hacked by Islamist jihadist sympathizers yesterday, it just goes to show how much more work we need to do, both public and private sector, to strengthen our cybersecurity,” the president said at the outset of a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House.
The Twitter and YouTube accounts of CENTCOM were hacked Monday as Mr. Obama spoke about cybersecurity in a speech in Washington.
Mr. Obama said the issue — a key area of focus this week heading into the Jan. 20 State of the Union address — is a potential area of agreement with Republican leaders such as House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I think we agreed that this is an area where we can work hard together, get some legislation done and make sure that we are much more effective in protecting the American people from these kinds of cyberattacks,” the president said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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