Data security and privacy concerns received special attention in President Obama’s State of the Union address last night.  As expected, the President advocated his recently released data security and privacy legislative proposals. 

With regard to data security, President Obama urged Congress to pass legislation to guard against cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect children’s data.  He called for a bipartisan effort and noted that failing to take action would leave the country and the economy vulnerable.

President Obama addressed privacy concerns in the context of the government’s surveillance programs.  The President noted that intelligence agencies have worked with the recommendations of privacy advocates to increase transparency and build more safeguards against potential abuse.  He promised to release a report next month explaining how the government has protected both national security and privacy interests.