Obama Proposes New Laws After Central Command Hacked

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed Monday that he will work with Congress on new laws that will protect privacy for U.S. citizens. This comes after the official Twitter account of the U.S. Central Command was hacked. The U.S. Central Command leads U.S. military action in the Middle East.

The White House confirmed that the attack was under investigation. The hacking was allegedly carried out by someone who claims to be associated with Islamic State militants Obama said.

Obama plans to implement new laws that focus on the trail of data via smart phones, computers and other technological devices. He proposed a new nationwide standard that would require companies to inform consumers within 30 days from the discovery of a data breach that may compromise their personal information.

Obama said, "Major companies get hacked. America's personal information, including financial information, gets stolen. And the problem is growing and it costs us billions of dollars." He also asked Congress to codify into law a "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" that the White House created in 2012.

In addition, Obama also expressed his wish to propose barring educational software companies from selling data they gather from students via educational applications and third party programs for the purpose of targeted ads. These legislative proposals are a preview of Obama's Jan. 20 State of the Union address.

Obama plans to meet with congress members Tuesday, and cybersecurity will be on the agenda said Republican Senator John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce committee in a statement.