Obama vows to prioritize cybersecurity

— -- President Obama's call for the U.S. to commence a collaborative push to make the Internet safer is winning widespread praise.

Now comes the hard part: making it so.

Obama surprised many on Friday by not naming a cybersecurity czar, as expected. Instead, he laid out an ambitious plan for stemming cyberthreats, and said he would personally select a "cybersecurity coordinator" who would have "regular access to me" to lead the charge. The new adviser will be responsible for securing federal systems and creating partnerships with state, local and private-sector entities to respond to cyberattacks. He or she will also work with the private sector to coordinate stronger security standards, spur research and development, and launch a national education campaign.

"Cyberspace is real, and so are the risks that come with it," said Obama, citing examples of cyberintruders taking advantage of a lack of coordinated defense. "This status quo is no longer acceptable — not when there's so much at stake. We can and we must do better."

It remains to be seen whether Obama's plans get bogged down in politics. John Ottman, CEO of database firm Application Security, says the new adviser, for instance, could find it difficult trying to satisfy divergent agendas of the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.

"The cyberczar must have the budget and authority to address a diverse and evolving set of threats," Ottman says. "It's the equivalent of simultaneously preparing for an avalanche and a tsunami."

Political land mines aside, supportive feedback poured in. "President Obama brought out one of the best definitions of the cybersecurity problem I have ever heard," says Suzanne Magee, CEO of TechGuard Security. "To hear the president so eloquently explain the threat will bring all the players together and create a more open forum."

Zalmai Azmi, former FBI chief information officer who is now a vice president for security firm CACI, praised Obama's "aggressive commitment" to shoring up cybersecurity. "The president is creating a framework in which the government and the private sector can work together to address a host of complicated security issues," Azmi says.