Obama signs new executive order promoting cyberthreat information sharing

President Obama signed new executive actions Friday that usher in a new phase of private industry collaboration with government entities when it comes to cybersecurity responses.

At a cybersecurity summit held on the Stanford University campus in California, Mr. Obama announced improvements information-sharing between the public and private sectors.

"Just as we're all connected like never before, we have to work together like never before," Mr. Obama said before Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. "The very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used to undermine us and inflict great harm."

The executive action encourages a single national standard for alerting the American people of stolen information, a "consumer privacy bill of rights" that detail what personal data companies have the right to, and promotes legislation that includes liability protections for private companies.

The federal government also wants to set up "hubs" that allow the tech sector to more easily share their cyber know-how with intelligence agencies. Mr. Obama also expects the cooperation to be a two-way street: his proposals include provisions to ensure the government can also share threat information with the companies that are affected.

The president laid out several principles behind these new executive actions.

Mr. Obama wants captains of industry to work together with the government in a "shared mission" to protect sensitive data.

Citing recent corporate data breaches, Mr. Obama said: "There's only one way to defend America from these cyber-threats -- and that is from government and industry working together."

The president maintained a commitment to "fast, flexible, and nimble" evolution when it came to creating cyber-defenses.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, one of only few big-name tech executives to attend the summit, seemed to back the president's efforts to enhance cybersecurity protections.

"If those of us in positions of responsibility fail to do everything in our power to protect the right of privacy, we risk something far more valuable than money. We risk our way of life," Cook said in his remarks before the president took the stage.

There will be initiatives to form organizations that will gather, share and analyze information, as well as ease access to cybersecurity threat information for corporate entities. The executive order also enables the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to better manage the flow of information into the government.

"We've got to be in lock-step," Commerce Secretary Lisa Monaco said earlier in the summit, addressing the crowd of tech entrepreneurs. "Cyber, like our counterterrorism work, requires a 'whole of government' approach that harnesses all the tools at our disposal."

Mr. Obama also noted the beauty of Stanford University's campus and admitted, "I kinda want to go here."

He said that his old passwords were "PASSWORD" and "1233457." Both, he said, had been changed in the name of security.