New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced $35.2 million in new funding to support cybersecurity enhancements statewide, including the expansion of shared services to local governments that help identify security gaps that could be exploited by an adversary.
With the additional investment, the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) will establish a first-ever in specialized industrial control system assessment team to help protect critical infrastructure and manufacturing systems across the state and make those systems more resilient to cyberattacks.
“The frequency, magnitude, and impact of cyberattacks have increased, but we will continue to take bold measures to secure and protect New York’s critical infrastructure,” Hochul said in a press release. “The Industrial Control Systems assessment team, coupled with record investments, will support physical security and cybersecurity assessment programs to help facilities improve their cybersecurity posture, creating a safer and more secure Empire State.”
The DHSES’ Office of Counterterrorism will also create an industrial control systems assessment team to better protect residents from cyberattacks and their effects. The team will help energy, transportation, manufacturing, and other critical infrastructure systems to improve their overall security posture and make their industrial control systems more resilient to cyberattacks.
The $35.2 million investment increase builds upon Hochul’s previous $61.9 million cybersecurity investment in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget to fund critical protections, including the expansion of the state’s cyber Red Team program to provide additional penetration testing, an expanded phishing exercise program, vulnerability scanning, and additional cyber incident response services.
“These investments help ensure that if one part of the network is attacked, the state can isolate and protect the rest of the system,” the governor’s office stated in a previous statement.
The proposed funding will also support the provision of cybersecurity services to county and local governments in FY 2024 and beyond, building upon Hochul’s creation of the first New York State Joint Security Operations Center.
