When was cyber security recognized as a national issue?
Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. president to address the problem, signing the Computer Security Act of 1987 to protect federal agencies’ computer data. Given the growing dependence in the 1990s of U.S. infrastructures on the cyber world, President Clinton in 1996 set up the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, led by former Air Force General Robert Marsh and known as the Marsh Commission, to safeguard vital systems such as gas, oil, transportation, water, telecommunications, etc. Two years later, Clinton ordered the government to work with the private sector to secure vital information networks, 90 percent of which are privately owned and operated. Clinton also appointed Richard Clarke as national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection and counter-terrorism. In 2000, the Clinton administration released its cyber security strategy, which was criticized by civil liberties and privacy groups for advocating a government intrusion detection network. Th
