New: Cyber Security Grant Program $1 Billion

 The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Biden signed into law Nov. 15, includes $1 billion for the creation of a new cybersecurity grant program to be awarded to state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments over the next four years. GPD is partnering with the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to establish the new program. This new grant program reflects the growing threat of ransomware, denial of service attacks, system intrusion, and other cyberattacks against public agencies and infrastructure.

The grant program will be administered by FEMA—and structured similarly to our existing Homeland Security Grant Program—with CISA serving as a subject matter expert for assessing grant applications.

 

The legislation provides a formula for the allocation of funds to states to then distribute, to include local and rural communities. FEMA and CISA are working with the SLTT community to make sure the program goals and objectives meet their needs. In the upcoming months, DHS will issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) which will outline the application process and identify how eligible entities—states, tribes, and territories—can apply.

This grant program will provide the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a vital tool to help its  SLTT partners build cyber resiliency by providing financial support to implement the guidance, practices, and capacity building that CISA offers, and address identified vulnerabilities within and across their networks.