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President Barack Obama (pictured) has been addressing growing concerns over cybersecurity and protecting the privacy of American citizens in the wake of recent online attacks. Since last year, the President has been getting tough on cyber crime and announced on Tuesday prospective legislation to address the matter.

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Back in 2011, Mr. Obama issued his Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal. The proposal was tweaked to cover international concerns in the arena, but Congress resisted passing the comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. Today, the President has unveiled a fresh Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal just as the dawn of the new GOP-led Congress is unfolding.

Some of the key factors of this proposal includes: enabling cybersecurity information sharing, modernizing law enforcement authorities to combat cyber crime, and national data breach reporting.

The finer details of these factors for the Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal can be found by following this link.

On February 13th, the White House will hold a Summit on “Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection” at Stanford University. The Summit will address public and private sector concerns in regards to protecting the American public from cyber attacks across a variety of networks. Senior officials from the White House will attend the event, along with CEOs from various industries. Law enforcement officials who focus on cyber crime will also be in attendance. Overall, the factors of the proposal will be the centerpiece of discussions at the Summit.

The Summit adds to the President’s BuySecure Initiative, which was introduced last fall. The initiative will aid in consumer financial protection and critical infrastructure cybersecurity.

Additionally, the President’s Executive Order 13532, which is aimed at bolstering the work of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), has made it possible that new contributions to these institutions will be possible. On Thursday (Jan. 15th), Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Norfolk, Va., to announce a $25 million Department of Energy grant program that will be distributed over the next five years to HBCUs. The grants will support a cybersecurity education consortium among 13 HBCUs and two national labs.

As there exists new job opportunities for cybersecurity experts, this grant program will provide funds to schools across seven states and also the Virgin Islands.

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