Cyber attacks against the US have become “a strategic issue on par with weapons of mass destruction or global jihad”, a new commission reported on Monday as it urged President-elect Barack Obama to raise the issue to the top of his national security agenda.

The Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, directed by the Center for International and Strategic Studies, said cyber security was ”one of the most important national security challenges” facing the US and could ”no longer be relegated to information technology offices”.