A person has been arrested after attempting to climb over a fence at the White House.

President Obama applauded the move to stand up to hackers.

President Obama’s home, The White House. Image by Diego Cambiaso / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Secret Service said the incident happened at 10.25pm on Sunday. The person was taken into custody and charges are pending. It did not identify the person arrested.

The agency has been beset by a series of security lapses, including an incident on September 19 last year in which authorities said a man with a knife jumped a fence and ran inside the executive mansion, looking for the president.

It was the sixth time someone had jumped the fence in 2014 and the 16th in the past five years, according to the Secret Service.

(Press Association)