U.S. President Barack Obama has unveiled a cyber security proposal to promote better information sharing between government and the private sector.

He announced his plan one day after the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the US military command was hacked by a group claiming to back the Islamic State.

"Today I want to announce some additional steps. First we are proposing new cyber security legislation to promote the greater information sharing we need between the government and private sector. This builds and improves on legislation we've put forward in the past. It reflects years of extensive discussions with industry, includes liability protections for companies that share information on cyber threats. It includes essential safetguards to ensure government protects privacy and civil liberties even as we're doing our job of safeguarding America's critical information networks."

The White House hopes to build momentum for the legislative move at a cyber security summit slated for Feb. 13.

Obama has elevated cyber security to the top of his 2015 agenda and will send the legislation to Capitol Hill immediately.