White House is said to create agency to fight cyber attacks

(Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama is creating a new agency to combat cybersecurity threats against the U.S. government and private businesses, according to a senior administration official.

The Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center will coordinate information between various agencies and departments that handle hacking attacks, said the official, who requested anonymity because the information hasn’t been made public. It will be announced Tuesday by Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.

Obama has increased his focus on online threats in recent months as major U.S. companies including Sony Corp. and Anthem Inc. (NYSE:ANTM) had their networks hacked. In October, the administration said it had been the target of threatening activity on its own computer network.

In his 2016 budget, Obama proposed spending $14 billion to combat online threats.