President Clinton proposed boosting government spending on computer security by some $280 million as part of a long-term plan to guard against threats ranging from hackers to terrorists.

Clinton_s plan to defend America_s "information infrastructure," includes a $160 million increase in spending on computer security research, college scholarships for students who agree to work for the government as security specialists and plans to share public and private research. Potential threats ranged from the hobbyist-hacker to countries or terrorists attacking U.S. computer systems to cripple the economy, said Richard Clarke, head of counterterrorism for the U.S. National Security Council. Republicans involved in the issue generally welcomed the plan, but said it came late and fell short in some areas. The White House had targeted a May 1999 deadline, and officials said on Friday they needed more time to do the job right. Clinton will request $2.03 billion for computer security in his 2001 budget request next month, up from $1.75 billion in 2000, White House Chief of Staff John Podesta told reporters. Included are boosts in research spending on information security to $621 million from $461 million, and $91 million in new initiatives. Other related increases brought the total spending increase next year to $280 million, officials said. Clinton proposed offering college scholarships to students in the field of computer security in exchange for their government service afterward. Starting pay for such recruits, who are in high demand in the private sector, may need to be sharply increased from existing government pay scales, Clarke said. Clinton also proposed an institute to fund research in areas not pursued now by either the public or private sector.