Obama unveils new legislative proposals to prevent cyber security threats

One day after hackers took over social media accounts of the US Central Command, President Obama is calling for a sort-of national firewall to prevent future breaches.

"Cyber threats pose an enormous challenge for our country, it is one of the most serious economic and national security problems we face as a nation," President Obama said.

President Obama unveiled new legislative proposals to prevent cyber security threats. This in the wake of the destructive attack at Sony pictures widely believed to be carried out by North Korea, and just one day after the US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts were compromised by Islamist jihadist sympathizers.

"This is disturbing. Now, with these jihadists groups we've seen attempting to get this type of technology, this type of malware - actually being successful at hacking into CENTCOM, into our military," McCaul said.

President Obama, facing full Republican control of congress, is optimistic lawmakers will take up cyber security this year, particularly after the hacking of CENTCOM.

"I raised this issue again with congressional leaders, including speaker Boehner, this morning and we all agreed that this is a threat that has to be addressed," President Obama said.

The president, who met with congressional leaders in the morning about defending against cyber security threats, says part of the White House package includes a measure that would encourage companies to quickly provide notice about hacks to its consumers, while also protecting students' educational data.

The president's proposals will be included in his State of the Union Address next week. And, next month, the White House will host a summit on cybersecurity and consumer protection at Stanford University.