U.S. lawmakers are pushing to raise U.S. defenses against cyber attacks, allowing the government to write and implement security guidelines for confidential industry.

Sponsored by Senators John D. Rockefeller IV and Olympia J. Snowe, the bill proposes the creation of a National cyber security Advisor (NCA) who would have direct access to the president and the power to shut down any part of the infrastructure in the event of an attack.

America’s vulnerability to massive cyber crime, global cyber espionage, and cyber attacks has emerged as one of the most urgent national security problems facing our country today, Senator Snowe said.

We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs - from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records - the list goes on, Senator Rockefeller said

Senators Rockefeller and Snowe introduced the bill yesterday that would create a national cyber security adviser position in the White House, reporting directly to the President.

Under the bill, the national cyber security adviser would serve as the lead official on all U.S. computer security matters, coordinating with the intelligence community, as well as civilian agencies.

Our failure to implement effective policies and procedures to protect critical infrastructure, prevent invasive intrusion and conduct an aggressive threat assessment has proven extremely consequential, putting the American information system at grave risk. It is abundantly clear we must unite on all fronts to confront this monumental challenge, if we fail to take swift action, we, regrettably, risk a cyber-Katrina, Senator Snowe said.

Hacking Security U.S.