US to establish new cybersecurity agency

WASHINGTON - The US government is creating a new agency to monitor cybersecurity threats, pooling and analyzing information on a spectrum of risks, a senior Obama administration official said on Tuesday.

The Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC) will be an "intelligence center that will 'connect the dots' between various cyber threats to the nation so that relevant departments and agencies are aware of these threats in as close to real time as possible," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Obama has moved cybersecurity to the top of his 2015 agenda after recent hacking attacks against Sony Pictures pot Inc, Anthem Inc and Target Corp and the federal government itself.

The Democratic president sees it as an area of cooperation with the Republican-led Congress.

Various federal agencies have cybersecurity components, including the National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the CIA.

The Obama administration is trying to connect the agencies "so that there's one belly button for the entire US government," Shawn Henry, president of CrowdStrike cybersecurity agency, said on the CBS "This Morning" program.

"That's a good strategy. It's important because there's so many different pieces of intelligence coming in. You've got to collaborate and put it together," he said.