Governor Kathy Hochul unveils New York State Cybersecurity Grant Plan
ALBANY, NY- Governor Kathy Hochul has released the New York State Cyber-security Grant Plan, which details a whole-of-state approach to reduce cyber risk and build cyber resiliency in local governments statewide.
Through the utilization of nearly $6 million in funding through the federal State and Local Cyber-security Grant Program, this grant program will expand access to cyber-security information, tools, resources, and services so that public sector entities in New York have access to the most sophisticated cyber defenses.
Given the funding available, New York will use its economy of scale purchasing power to directly procure and deliver best-in-brand software, hardware, and services to eligible entities.
“A cyber-attack can halt an entire community, and it’s essential that local governments have the resources and information needed to protect themselves and quickly respond to a cyber-threat,” Governor Hochul said.
“This funding will provide tools to help municipalities secure critical infrastructure to protect New Yorkers and reduce cyber risks.”
As part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Congress established the State and Local Cyber-security Grant Program (SLCGP) to award funding to each state to help eligible entities address cyber-security risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by or on behalf of State, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Bolstering our local government, businesses, critical New York infrastructure, and communities against cyber-security threats has never been more important. That’s why I pushed to include millions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure the Empire State could build up the most state-of-the-art cyber defenses to protect New Yorkers from bad actors. I am proud to deliver this funding and thank Governor Hochul for her strong leadership on cyber-security. I promise to keep fighting to deliver federal resources to help prevent cyber-attacks in New York.”
The SLCGP FY2022 funding allocation for New York is $5,810,605, and at least 80 percent of the funds will be allocated to goods and services for local government entities, with at least 25 percent of that allocated to entities in rural areas.
To ensure the maximum number of New York entities can benefit from the limited SLCGP funds, New York will directly procure software, hardware, and services for delivery to eligible entities.
During the program’s first year, New York State is focusing on shared services initiatives to help local government entities build a baseline level of cybe-rsecurity. These initiatives are:
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA is a method to authenticate a user that requires them to provide two or more verification factors so they can gain access to a resource. New York will provide hardware and/or software tokens and professional services that eligible entities can use to implement MFA in their technology environments.
Cyber-security Certification Scholarship: New York will provide scholarships for select employees from eligible entities who currently have roles or responsibilities related to information technology, information security, cyber-security, data privacy, and/or data security to achieve an industry-recognized cyber-security certification.
Cyber-security Awareness Training: New York will provide an online cyber-security awareness training for eligible entities for their employees.
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