Kellep Charles

Obama to Talk Cybersecurity With Top Business Leaders

President Barack Obama will meet with various CEOs Wednesday afternoon to discuss cybersecurity during a week in which administration officials have been putting an intense spotlight on the issue.

Obama will sit down with corporate leaders in the Situation Room of the White House to share ideas for how the government and private businesses can best work together to improve the country's defense against cyberattacks. Such cooperation is the focus of Obama's recent executive order on cybersecurity, which instructed federal agencies to notify private businesses of potential threats in a timely and declassified fashion.

Wednesday's meeting will likely focus on economic cybersecurity — that is, the prevention of hackers targeting American firms to steal corporate secrets and intellectual property. Ideas for keeping critical American infrastructure safe from disruption or destruction by hackers may also be part of the discussion.

The White House has not made public the list of CEOs who will be meeting with the president. The event is closed to press.

Obama doesn't believe his executive order is enough to fully bolster the United States' defense against cyberattacks, evident by his urging of Congress to act on cybersecurity during a Wednesday interview with ABC.

"We’ve put before Congress what exactly we need that will protect people’s privacy and civil liberties, but will also make sure that our overall system, both public and private, are protected from these kinds of attacks," said Obama.