On Friday, Congress passed one of President Biden’s signature pieces of legislation, the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This landmark bill promises not only massive upgrades to the nation’s aging infrastructure but also boosts government cybersecurity spending by $1.9 billion.
Among its provisions is a new $1 billion grant program to help state, local, tribal and territorial governments protect themselves from malicious actors and modernize systems to protect sensitive data, information, and public critical infrastructure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which runs the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) existing grant programs, will provide the funds over four years starting in fiscal year 2022, with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) serving as a subject matter expert.
