By Jamie Epstein, TMCnet Web Editor

At a time in which companies throughout every industry must enhance their protection to prevent cyber attacks, it seems those in the telecommunications space including master agent carrier, CenturyLink are openly exploring what a newly unveiled executive order could mean to the future of their business.

At President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, he revealed that America as a whole must take a closer look into the devastating consequences that can result when getting hacked. He stated, “We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.” Thus, the newly introduced mandate could lead to a much stronger strategic alliance between government agencies and business in our country.

The order reveals, "The national and economic security of the United States depends on the reliable functioning of the Nation's critical infrastructure in the face of such threats," the order reads. "It is the policy of the United States to enhance the security and resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure and to maintain a cyber environment that encourages efficiency, innovation, and economic prosperity while promoting safety, security, business confidentiality, privacy, and civil liberties. We can achieve these goals through a partnership with the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to improve cyber security information sharing and collaboratively develop and implement risk-based standards.”

CenturyLink is touted as the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. Providing broadband, voice and wireless services to business all over the nation, the company also delivers managed services to government and wholesale customers. With its robust portfolio in tow, it makes complete sense why obstacles that traditionally arise in regards to cyber crime would cause the firm to be in favor of the new legislation.

“Since our network is one of the central assets of our business, we’ve invested heavily in robust cyber security protections and created a governance, risk and compliance framework that leverages voluntary public-private partnerships with the federal government," Steve Davis (News - Alert), CenturyLink executive vice president for Public Policy and Government Relations added. " CenturyLink is encouraged by the White House executive order's provisions to improve information sharing between government agencies and the private sector. A voluntary, flexible, balanced and collaborative partnership between government agencies and the private sector is essential to improving the nation's cyber security posture. We also encourage the president to work with Congress on bipartisan legislation that establishes a legal framework for information sharing and liability protections."

Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli