A Billion-Dollar Opportunity to Boost Your Cybersecurity Program

The convergence of new funding sources, along with heightened cybersecurity compliance requirements at the federal level, is challenging state, local, and territorial (SLT) agencies to examine their cybersecurity landscape with a heightened level of scrutiny. For SLT agencies, there's never been a better—or more necessary—time to review current cybersecurity capabilities and identify gaps to address quickly and securely. Why? 

New Funding Sources Are Coming Available 

One motivator for boosting cybersecurity capabilities now is an increase in funding sources. For example, the Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a first-ever cybersecurity grant program, which provides $1 billion in funding to SLT partners over four years. The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) makes $185 million available for FY22 to help address current and emerging cybersecurity risks. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has additional funding-related resources to help state, local, tribal, and territorial governments identify and secure funding. CISA also lays out how the SLCGP funding grants will be administered, along with processes and timelines for securing funding. 

While new funding sources bring opportunities for state and local municipalities to advance their cybersecurity initiatives, they also bring new challenges, including prioritizing cybersecurity needs and executing against a strategy. For example, agencies must adhere to compliance requirements from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), ensured through an audit by either the state's Criminal Justice Agency or the Federal level by the FBI CJIS Audit Unit. Audits. The main goal of audits is to ensure that CJIS-compliant IT and Security controls are in place for local and state agencies to protect Criminal Justice Information (CJI). Failure to comply can jeopardize state and local agencies' continued access to FBI Criminal Justice data, result in fines and/or criminal charges, and increase the potential for attacks that put agencies and public safety at risk.  

Identify Top Priorities with a Security Survey

With opportunities and issues around funding and compliance on the front burner for state, local, and territorial agencies, now is the time to survey your cybersecurity landscape and identify ways to leverage funding and optimize your efforts. A Solutions II Security Survey can get you started. We'll work with your agency to deliver a roadmap for the high-priority next steps you should focus on now—and moving forward.

Contact Solutions II to learn how our Security Survey can deliver a roadmap to a compliant, cyber-resilient path for your agency and the public you serve.