Trump to sign executive action on cybersecurity

President Trump on Monday plans to sign an executive action kickstarting a government-wide review of cybersecurity, according to a White House official.

The president will direct Cabinet heads to better secure their agencies’ data and assign the Office of Management and Budget to assess the hacking risk across the federal government and prepare an upgrade, the official told reporters.

The action comes after widespread cyberhacking roiled the 2016 presidential campaign, particularly the theft of emails from Democratic political groups that U.S. intelligence agencies say was part of a Russian government effort to undermine the democratic process and tip the election for Trump.

{mosads}Trump long disputed those findings before saying earlier this month that he believes Russia was behind the effort.

Trump is tasking the secretary of Homeland Security and other agency heads to commission a review of security of critical defense systems and infrastructure.

The White House official said on Tuesday that the action would also work to ensure that infrastructure, such as the internet and the electrical grid, are protected and that the government is adequately prepared for an attack.