Obama Issues Cybersecurity Executive Orders

Tasks the government to work with private business to work out security standards

President Barack Obama used his State of the Union stage Tuesday to issue a highly anticipated executive order meant to safeguard the nation's power plants, water systems and other forms of critical infrastructure against crippling cyberattacks.

The eight-page order represents a major attempt to shore up the country's digital defenses against the new threats emerging from China, Iran and elsewhere — though it will require later intervention by a divided Congress and relies, at least for now, almost entirely on industry support.