The Big Shift
A lthough needs outweigh resources, states have so far been able to grow their cybersecurity budgets. “Our surveys have demonstrated there’s more dedicated funding going to cyber resources and cyber personnel,” said Doug Robinson, executive director at National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO). “But they’ve also been relying on the federal government to assist them through the MS-ISAC [and] through cyber grants.” However, the future of key federal cyberse- curity grants is uncertain, too. The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, created in 2021 by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is set to expire this year. The program was designed to deliver $1 billion in cybersecurity funding to state governments over four years, with 80 percent of those dollars ultimately flowing to cities, counties and tribal govern- ments. It has become an important resource for whole-of-state cybersecurity approaches, where states collaborate closely with local governments to strengthen cyber protection across jurisdictions. The grant program’s future appeared grim over the summer, but continuation in some form now seems more likely. Reauthorization language was included in temporary govern- ment funding legislation in September with States Are Stepping Up
bipartisan support, although no budget amount was specified. Multiple state and local government groups — including NASCIO, National League of Cities and National Association of Counties (NACo) — have urged Congress to continue the grants. Rita Reynolds, NACo’s former CIO, said she has seen “great strides with the state and local cy- ber grant program” and raised concerns about the prospect of it ending. Noting that states and localities “have been able to keep only a quarter of a step behind the bad guys.” Reynolds said cutbacks in MS- ISAC services will put governments at an even bigger disadvantage. “They’re just going to fall further behind,” she said, “because there’s just a lot of clever people out there who want to hack into systems, particularly with the use of AI, which seems to be a real threat.” Given other budget pressures, state and local appetite for technology modernization appears to have lessened. In an EY State and Local Government Tech Modernization Survey that was released in June, 300 state and local IT leaders were asked to rank their priorities. While 54% put cybersecurity as a top priority, that compared to 56% who said their top priority was reducing costs and 47% who put tech modernization on top.
“Our surveys have demonstrated there’s more dedicated funding going to cyber resources and cyber personnel.”
Doug Robinson, Executive Director, NASCIO
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