White House Finally Announces Plan for Combating Mr. Robot-esque Hackers

The White House said in a press release Tuesday the government had "made progress" in raising the level of cybersecurity in both public and private sectors but much more needed to be done. "The United States has been faced with managing increasingly significant cyber incidents affecting both the private sector and Federal government," the statement said. "We have applied the lessons learned from these events, as well as our experience in other areas such as counterterrorism and disaster response. That experience has allowed us to hone our approach but also demonstrated that significant cyber incidents demand a more coordinated, integrated, and structured response."

The feds' response to what they adorably call "cyber incidents" will be grounded by five basic principles: shared responsibility, risk-based response, respecting affected entities, unity of effort, and enabling restoration and recovery. But what makes a "cyber incident" something more serious than, say, a mere "incident?" Here's what the White House says about handling "significant" breaches: