Obama to spend on cybersecurity

US president Barack Obama is planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on improving cybersecurity in the United States.

In an outline of the President's planned 2010 budget, the White House outlined funding plans for the Department of Homeland Security which included US$355 million earmarked for securing the nation's computer systems.

The money will be spent on both government and private groups, with much of the funding going to the National Cybersecurity Division and the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative programs.

US$36 million of the money is also planned to be spent on improving sensor and surveillance systems to protect against a biological attack, while another US$36 million will go to the development and installation of new long-range sensor systems for the Coast Guard.

The cybersecurity funding adds to what has been billions of dollars in new funding for IT programs in the US. Earlier this month, US Congress signed off on a hotly-contended stimulus bill which includes $7.2bn for improving broadband networks throughout the country.