President Obama this week praised San Diego-based antivirus vendor ESETÃ‚Â for itsÃ‚Â Securing Our eCity program, citing it as an example ofÃ‚Â how local-level partnerships between the private and public sectors can boost cybersecurity. ESET was awarded “Best Local/Community Plan” as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Challenge.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Obama alluded to ESET as helpingÃ‚Â toÃ‚Â strengthen ” public/private partnerships both cooperatively on the domestic as well as the international side.Ã¢â‚¬Â

DHS handed out seven awards to organizations, business and one individual. This is allÃ‚Â part of DHS working toward crafting a comprehensive national cybersecurity plan, which it is slated to officially unveiled in October as a part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Since 2008, ESET has been rallying San Diego-areaÃ‚Â consumer advocates, business owners, law enforcement investigators, government regulators and elected officials to form partnerships to boost cybersecurity awareness and best practices.

“The journey to get to this point was beyond exciting,” says ESET’s Liz Fraumann, Director of Cybersecurity Awareness & Education. “With 200 stakeholders representing all segments of the greater San Diego community we are well on our way to achieving our mission of ‘making San Diego a place where we can all live, work and play in a cybersecure city.’ Ã¢â‚¬Â

By Byron Acohido

July 16th, 2010 | Obama watch | Steps forward