Obama urged to set up National Office for Cyberspace

Obama has been advised to act on shoring up the US's cyber-defences

A report from thinktank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is urging president-elect Barack Obama to set up a National Office for Cyberspace (NOC) to protect American infrastructure from online attack.

The report, which has taken over a year to compile, recommends giving a member of the White House team responsibility for dealing with online threats and the merging of the existing National Cyber Security Center and the Joint Inter-Agency Cyber Task Force.

"We face a long-term challenge in cyberspace from foreign intelligence agencies and militaries, criminals, and others, and that losing this struggle will wreak serious damage on the economic health and national security of the United States," the report states.

"Finding ways to take better advantage of cyberspace will help give the United States a competitive edge in a world where we are currently running behind, and the ability to operate in cyberspace and to defend against the operations of others will be crucial for our nation to prosper."

The new body would enforce computer security across all government agencies and also enlist the private sector to secure the national online infrastructure, 85 per cent of which is not under government control.