BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton has unveiled a new initiative that would target what some see as a growing vulnerability: the computers that make up much of the nation's infrastructure, all the way from information to national security. President Clinton's announcement came about 60 minutes ago. You saw it live here on CNN's MORNING NEWS. Now live to the White House with Gene Randall who's tracking that for us. Gene, hello.</s>GENE RANDALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. In 1998, President Clinton commissioned a study on ways to protect the country from those bent on disrupting its computer systems. A short time ago here, Mr. Clinton announced a number of steps he would take, including a proposal for an extra $90 million to improve computer security.</s>WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has never been a time like this in which we have the power to create knowledge and the power to create havoc, and both those powers rest in the same hands. We live in a age when one person sitting at one computer can come up with an idea, travel through cyberspace and take humanity to new heights. Yet someone can sit at the same computer, hack into a computer system and potentially paralyze a company, a city, or a government.</s>RANDALL: Included in the White House plan, federal funds for college scholarships to produce what the president called "a new generation of computer experts" required to do a period of public service in exchange for the scholarship money. Gene Randall, CNN, the White House.
President Clinton Unveils New Initiative to Prevent Cyber- Terrorism