Biden administration unveils $1B state, local cyber grant program

The Biden administration has launched a federal cybersecurity program that would grant $1 billion to state and local cybersecurity efforts, with the Department of Homeland Security opening a 60-day application period for the four-year program, nearly a year following the approval of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending package, according to StateScoop. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been tasked to oversee the program, which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu said would distribute $185 million for the fiscal year 2022. States looking to join the program will be required to detail their plans for their share of the funding, as well as their plans for fund redistribution to local governments within the 60-day application period, according to officials, who added that a tribal cybersecurity grant program is poised to be launched this fall. "The goal of this program is to address the enormous challenge that state, local and tribal, and territorial governments currently face when defending against cyber threats. With this funding, we are better protecting our most vulnerable communities, ensuring that resource constraints dont hold them back from developing plans to safeguard their critical infrastructure," said Landrieu.