Although the legislation has languished on Capitol Hill for four years, the White House is seizing on recent high-profile hacking attacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other companies to build momentum for a final agreement.

"In this interconnected, digital world, there are going to be opportunities for hackers to engage in cyberassaults both in the private sector and the public sector," Obama said today in a White House statement. "Some of them are going to be state actors; some of them are going to be non-state actors. All of them are going to be sophisticated and many of them can do some damage."

Obama called on Congress to pass legislation that allows for companies to share threat information with the government and other businesses yet make sure companies wouldn't run afoul of antitrust laws. The president is expected to speak about the measures later today at the Homeland Security Department's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in the Washington suburbs.