MANILA, Philippines – US President Barack Obama signed an executive order to enhance the security of US cyber-infrastructure, formally announcing it during his recent State of the Union address.

On the evening of February 12 (February 13 Philippine time), Obama noted in his State of the Union address (full text here) that he signed an order that would strengthen US cyber defenses “by increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy.”

The cybersecurity executive order (full text here) mentions the importance of a healthy online environment:

“It is the policy of the United States to enhance the security and resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and to maintain a cyber environment that encourages efficiency, innovation, and economic prosperity while promoting safety, security, business confidentiality, privacy, and civil liberties.”

To get the job done, the executive order aligns itself with the idea of “a partnership with the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to improve cybersecurity information sharing and collaboratively develop and implement risk-based standards.”

Of note to Internet freedom advocates is a portion in the actual cybersecurity order which has privacy and civil liberties protections.

Part of the order, which discusses privacy and civil liberties, notes.

“Agencies shall coordinate their activities under this order with their senior agency officials for privacy and civil liberties and ensure that privacy and civil liberties protections are incorporated into such activities. Such protections shall be based upon the Fair Information Practice Principles and other privacy and civil liberties policies, principles, and frameworks as they apply to each agency’s activities.”

The measure comes at an opportune time, following reports of cybersecurity issues becoming more publicized, such as an earlier report of some news outlets in the US being attacked by hackers. – Rappler.com