Internet hackers are about to meet their match -- the White House.
President Barack Obama is expected to announce later this week that he'll create the position of "cyber czar," a senior official with sweeping authority to monitor the nation's cybersecurity, the Washington Post reported.
The Internet guru will be asked to create a strategy to lock down security on the nation's private and publicly-owned computer networks and would likely be a member of the National Security Council, officials told the Post under condition of anonymity.
The country's top techie would also likely get one-on-one access to President Obama, who pledged during his campaign that Internet safety would be a top priority of his change-making policies. The "cyber czar" would get the ability to "pick up the phone and contact the president directly, if need be," an administration official said.
Officials said Obama signed off on the post last week and will announce more particulars about the position later this week as a report of the country's new tech-safety initiatives is released.
Keeping the country's Internet networks safe is "vitally important, and the government needs to be coordinated on this," a White House official said.
"The report give conclusions and next steps. It's trying to steer us in the right direction," the official said.
More information about the position will be released upon the announcement later this week, officials said. Interim cybersecurity adviser Melissa Hathaway is reportedly a top contender for the newly created position, but it was unclear whether or not President Obama would name the adviser during the announcement of the new position.
