President Obama unveiled a new White House office dedicated to protecting America’s computer networks yesterday, warning that the country was vulnerable to cyber-attacks that could cripple the economy or air traffic control system.

The civilian “cyber-czar” will be appointed as the Pentagon is close to announcing a new military command for cyberspace to defend the US military’s networks in addition to going on the offensive against terrorist computer networks and worldwide hackers, especially in China.

“It’s the great irony of the information age that the very technologies that empower us to create and to build also empower those who would disrupt and destroy,” Mr Obama said. He added: “We’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country. It’s now clear this cyber-threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.”

Mr Obama spoke of myriad daily hacking attacks in the US, from within and from overseas, and revealed that his presidential campaign computer system was hacked into last year. “Between August and October, hackers gained access to e-mails and a large range of campaign files,” he said.

The President said that in the past two years, cybercrime had cost Americans more than $8 billion (£5 billion).

In one attack last year, he said, thieves used stolen credit card information to steal millions of dollars from 130 cash machines in 49 cities worldwide — in only 30 minutes.

Mr Obama said that America’s defence and military networks were under constant attack.

Last year, he said, thousands of military computers were infected by malicious software.

“Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups have spoken of their desire to unleash a cyber-attack on our country — attacks that are harder to detect and harder to defend against,” he said. “In today’s world acts of terror could come not only from a few extremists in suicide vests but from a few key strokes of a computer.”

Mr Obama said that he would soon pick the person he wanted to head the new office of cybersecurity. The official will report to the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, reflecting the importance of computers to the economy.

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