"I don't have to get a credential if I don't want one," he said. "If I want to get a credential, I don't have to use it all the time. I can be selective where I use it and when I use it."

A trusted ID system will not solve all cybersecurity problems, but it will be one tool to improve online security, Schmidt said. "Many of you who have been in security for years know that security is not a destination, it's a journey," he said. "As a consequence, this is one piece that we need to put together."

Representatives of security vendor McAfee and tech trade group TechAmerica praised the White House for focusing on trusted IDs and for reaching out to tech vendors.

"The government has clearly recognized that the tech industry must drive implementation of the national strategy," said Phil Bond, president and CEO of TechAmerica. Bond called on the Commerce Department to create a private-sector advisory committee for its new trusted ID office.

It's important that private companies drive the trusted ID effort, added privacy advocate James Dempsey , vice president for public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "The government cannot create that identity infrastructure," he said. "If it tried to, it wouldn't be trusted."