WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s decision to form a new White House Cyber Office:

“I commend President Obama’s decision to form a White House Cyber Office to better coordinate our private sector and government defenses against the complex and evolving attacks by hackers and cyber spies our nation faces each day. Cyber security has been of growing concern to me and my constituents since the devastating cyber attacks against Estonia two years ago.

“Last year, the Cyber Initiative made some initial steps to address important vulnerabilities in our government networks. However, key questions about governance, workforce development, technology development, and civil liberties protections remained unanswered. I believe the creation of a White House Cyber Office is one important step in addressing these critical issues.

“I look forward to working with President Obama’s cyber task force leader Melissa Hathaway in the coming weeks to ensure the new strategy puts the nation’s cyber security on the right path.”